When Everything's Against You
by Brucatul-grl
Summary: Brooke is heartbroken and angry as hell when Lucas goes to Peyton after their breakup... Yet hes still possessive of her, and so Brooke finds herself purposely pursuing another guy to get back at him. Will love be enough to bring Brucas back together?
1. Chapter 1

**A/n Ok well, I actually had this as another story, but that one got pretty messed up. So I'm trying this again, and I'm going to make the couple clear from the get go, okay? So, even though you will see Lucas/Peyton in this, it will eventually be Brucas, and at times it will feel like it's going to be Leyton for sure, and a lot of shits going to go down between Brucas, be patient, and I promise to make up for everything. I put the first six chapters together here. Please review, and I'll continue. **

**p.s I'm **_**really**_** sorry Leyton fans that were reading the other story hoping for Leyton, but I'm a total Brooke fan, and I couldn't have you guys keep reading thinking it will be Leyton, I didn't want to do that to you guys, so I had to do this. Sorry again.**

"I don't want you anymore Lucas," Brooke said at last.

Lucas winced, "Brooke, I know you still love me, and I love you too."

"I thought I did," she admitted, "But what's love without trust? And Lucas, one thing is for sure, I cannot trust you at all,"

Lucas ran his hand through his hair in frustration. He had run into Brooke at the mall, where unknown to her, he had come with Peyton. He prayed that Peyton would stay in the change room, or see Brooke and hide.

It wasn't like they were doing anything wrong, they were here as friends, but he knew Brooke wouldn't understand.

But this was the first time Brooke had spoken to him after their break up, and he couldn't stop questions from pouring out of him mouth.

"I don't know what this is about; you can't just randomly dump me without any proper reasoning besides you don't _miss _me anymore," Lucas asked in anger and hurt.

"This is about _us_, about how I don't feel like you love me, or what we have is love, I feel like every time I turn around your with my best friend… or ex best friend." She stated simply, turning away from him.

"Lucas, how do I look?"

Lucas turned in horror, as he watched Peyton step out of the changing room, still fidgeting with the top, not having seen Brooke.

Brooke was almost out of the store, until she heard Peyton. She turned around and gasped.

Lucas looked at her guiltily, stuttering over words to explain. He winced at the irony of the situation.

"Every time turn around Lucas… _every time,_" she muttered bitterly.

Peyton looked up in surprise, "Brooke,"

"You look great Peyton, as you obviously know;_ backstabbing_ is in this season," Brooke said dryly, "I bet Lucas can't wait to take that off you,"

With that, Brooke turned on her heels, and rushed out.

Lucas watched her go sadly. How had he managed to mess things up so badly?

Peyton blushed crimson, and gave Lucas an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, if I had seen her before, I would've hid or something," she rambled quickly.

"It's okay Peyton, its not like we were doing anything wrong," Lucas consoled, still looking in the direction Brooke had stormed of angrily moments before.

"You know what, I'm not in the mood to shop more, lets just leave," Peyton muttered dejectedly.

Lucas threw his arm over her shoulder and gave her a little squeeze, "Peyton, we don't have to leave,"

"I know, but you're upset, so the mood is basically killed, I'll do this tomorrow, lets go," she insisted, smiling slightly as she went back into the change room.

Lucas smiled. He was always surprised at how well Peyton understood him, and how understanding she was. He knew she was really excited about today's shopping trip, and the fact that she was cutting it short, just because of him put him in awe.

Moment later, Peyton came out in her clothes, and tugged at Lucas, pulling him out of the mall. Just as they got out, she quickly let go of him, just in case Brooke was still around.

They arrived at his house, but Peyton held back a little.

Lucas turned to her, "What's wrong Peyton?"

"Maybe… um, I'm just thinking that maybe I should try being alone today, I mean, it's been a while since the whole Derek incident, that I should just start getting my life back to normal you know?"

Lucas nodded slightly, "If that's what you want Peyton, but I want you to know, I don't mind having you here?"

Peyton smiled and shoved him playfully, "Of course you don't!"

Lucas smiled, "But you don't have to leave yet," Lucas explained quickly looking at her distressed face, it was evident she wasn't ready to be alone. "Chill with my for awhile, and you can leave at night,"

Peyton nodded quickly; relieved she didn't have to go yet. Peyton had felt really bad intruding on Lucas's life the past week, and didn't want to be a burden.

Lucas took Peyton's hand, giving her a reassuring smile, and together they went in.

Brooke came in and sat fuming on the bed beside Rachel's. Rachel looked up at her from her compact mirror. "What's wrong you whore?" She teased, "Customer not treating you right?"

"Rachel shut up," Brooke snapped. "I just ran into Lucas-…" she went on sadly.

"What's wrong with that?"

"…with Peyton,"

"Oh!" Rachel sat up properly from her crouched position, giving her full attention to Brooke.

"I went to the mall to, you know, shop to make myself feel better. I was there looking for a new purse, and of course, I couldn't resist, I went to go look at other brand shirts. There, I ran into Lucas. He went on and on about how he loved me and shit, and imagine my fucking surprise when the blond whore walks out of the change room in this ugly top, asking Lucas how she _looked_, like how much of a whore can she _get!_"

"Ugh! She sure didn't take time!"

"I _know_, and what pissed me off was, there Lucas was, pretending to be so innocent, as if he was such a victim, when he was there with the reason of our break up!" Brooke cried angrily.

"I really _really_ can't believe those two, it's disgusting!"

Rachel nodded in disgust.

Brooke rubbed at her teary eyes violently.

"Brooke, do not dare cry! You mascara is getting messed up!" Rachel whispered softly.

"Rachel!" Brooke warned.

"I'm kidding," Rachel whispered, as she joined Brooke on her bed, and put her arm around her, "Lucas is a jerk; he doesn't know what he's losing. Plus, I don't think he deserves you, your better then that. I was surprised you had given him a second chance after I found out about your history. If he still lets you down then seriously Brooke, you can do much better!"

Brooke smiled weakly. "But I love him, Rachel."

"Stop it! I don't want to hear that again. If you stop thinking that you love him, then you'll be a step closer."

Brooke hugged Rachel, "I'm glad I have you as a friend Rach, you're not the heartless bitch I thought you were,"

Rachel smiled.

"Hey Lucas, pass me the can." Peyton whined. She was lying on her back on his bed, sketching a pair of eyes.

When he didn't respond, she propped half up on her elbow and turned to look at Lucas who was on his laptop.

"Earth to Lucas,"

Lucas looked up at her surprised, as if seeing her for the first time. "Oh, sorry Peyton, what did you say?"

Peyton rolled her eyes, "You're such a nerd, pass me the coke can you computer geek," she teased.

Lucas laughed, "Get it yourself, you lazy ass,"

Peyton drew a huge breath in exaggeration, as she hauled herself up. She got up and stood beside him.

"Peyton, I didn't tell you to look at my screen," Lucas mumbled annoyed.

"Lucas I'm bored." She whined.

"What am I suppose to do about it?" he asked with a raised brow.

Peyton frowned, and shoved him playfully.

"Peyton," Lucas muttered her name threateningly.

"What are you going to do nerd?" she challenged in her playful mood, punching him gently. It angered her slightly when he decided to just ignore her.

Lucas went back to his laptop, when a pillow suddenly collided with a thud against his head.

Lucas' eyes snapped open with shock toward Peyton, who was smiling innocently, "You sure you wanna do that Peyton? Because, I won't be responsible for how a retaliate-…" he began to warn.

Peyton simply smirked deviously and threw another pillow at him, hard. But this time, Lucas was ready, and managed to catch it with a raised brow, grinning. "It's on!" he exclaimed tossing it back at her. It hit her gently in the chest, causing her to giggle in laughter, before hurling it back at him.

Lucas dodged the pillow, and looked up to see Peyton approaching him with the last pillow she had access to, it was held in her hand like a weapon, "Your so gone Scott!" she laughed wickedly.

Lucas snickered teasingly, "Yeah, because _you_ could really cause some damage," he muttered sarcastically.

Peyton's face flashed with mock indignant, as she raised the pillow over her head. She let out a squealed when his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her down on the bed. Peyton gasped in laughter as he used his other hand to hold her wrists over her head, the pillow slipping from her grip.

"Unfair!" she proclaimed, their faces inches apart now.

Lucas grinned looking down at her, "Alls fair in love and war Peyton,"

Peyton rolled her eyes and huffed. "You're so immature Lucas," she whispered, causing Lucas to smirk.

Peyton's eyes scanned over Lucas' face, and suddenly, she became aware of just how close they were.

Lucas' breath caught in his throat, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to move.

Their lips were so close now; he could almost feel hers already.

Peyton couldn't help it; she leaned up slightly, letting her pleading lips meet his. She covered his lips hungrily, passionately. She felt him respond slightly, until he pulled away and rolled off her.

Peyton instantly missed his warn body over her.

Peyton sat up, "Lucas-…" her voice started, slightly raspy, trying to pull him to look at her.

"No Peyton, I can't." Lucas mumbled.

"What's wrong?" Peyton asked, not wanting to sound too desperate, but that kiss had left her slightly breathless and longing for more. "Didn't you feel anything?"

"No Peyton that's not it, I really enjoyed that… um kiss. But I can't do that with you, because I still care about Brooke, and I want to work things out with her."

Peyton nodded slowly. "I'm sorry I did that, I really am, I don't want things awkward between us Lucas."

Lucas nodded, "Me neither."

Peyton agreed with a quick nod of her head, "I should go now,"

With that, Peyton quickly packed her art work, and let herself out.

Lucas watched after her sadly. It was so confusing, he knew he wanted to be with Brooke, but he couldn't deny these feelings him and Peyton shared.

That morning, the first thing Lucas did was walk over to Peyton's house. It was her first night alone, and he was worried about her.

He rang the doorbell, and it was opened moments later by a tired looking Peyton.

"Oh sorry, did I wake you?"

Peyton yawned tiredly, "Yeah, buts its okay –Oh Lucas! Did I just, oh my god, I slept alone!"

Lucas grinned, "Yes you did Peyton, I'm so proud of you!"

With that said, he pulled her into a hug. They stayed there for a moment, both remembering the night before, and pulled away awkwardly.

A few more minutes of awkward gibberish continued.

"Yeah so great weather eh?" Lucas mumbled, _what the hell, I'm talking about the weather!_

"Yeah, it's pretty good," Peyton responded, fidgeting with her hands.

Luca broke into a smile, "I think this is what both of us didn't want,"

Peyton smiled, "Yeah, I'm sorry about that, let's forget everything, deal?"

Lucas wasn't sure he wanted to forget everything, but nodded anyways. "So, not going to invite me in?"

Peyton blushed, moving out of the way and letting him in. "I'll make you some coffee mmkay?"

Lucas nodded, following her to the kitchen.

They made light conversation as Peyton poured them both some coffee. But when she extended her arm to pass him his mug, their fingers slightly brushed, causing Peyton to pull her hand away from the cup quickly.

Lucas almost dropped the cup, and looked up at her with a raised brow.

"Sorry," Peyton muttered, busying herself with her coffee.

"Peyton, I don't want you feeling weird around me. I really care about you, and-…"

"Lucas, I understand,"

Lucas got up and walked around the counter to her. He took her hands in his larger ones, and looked into her eyes sincerely.

"Peyton, I'm sorry if I hurt you when I pulled away from our kiss, but I also know that you understand why I did it right?"

Peyton pursed her lips together before giving a stiff nod.

Lucas bent down slightly, so they were eye to eye.

"I _do_ care about you Peyton,"

Peyton smiled, "I care about you too Lucas."

"It's just-…" Lucas began before he was interrupted by his cell.

Lucas gave her an apologetic smile before flipping open his phone, "Hello,"

"Lucas! It's me Haley, are you busy?"

Lucas glanced at Peyton, "No it's alright, what's up?"

"It's Brooke!"

Now Lucas was alarmed, "What about Brooke, Haley?"

"Her … her mom died,"

Lucas gasped, "Oh shit how's Brooke doing?"

"How do you think Lucas? She's devastated, she's been crying non stop, and I don't know what to do! She won't let any one of us comfort her," Haley cried.

"I'm going right over!" Lucas shut his phone, and turned to the shocked Peyton.

"Peyton-…"

"Lucas, I can't go,"

"What? Peyton, Brooke's mom _died_, this isn't about anything that's happened between you, its about her losing her mom, and like it or now, and even if she doesn't admit it, Brooke _needs _you Peyton, more then ever,"

"Lucas you don't understand! I want to be there for her. I want to be there like she's has always been there for me. But I can't. How can I? She hates me Lucas, and I deserve it, what face do I go to her with. I'm ashamed to have to even look at her now, because while she's always been there, I've always been there to ruin things for her. I can't see her, I know I'm not the person she wants to see right now."

"Peyton I don't understand, just-…"

"Please Lucas; you're right, you don't understand. I'm doing this for her. I don't want her to see me, and be in more pain. I don't want all the pain I caused her to come back and drown her with pain. Please, I know her. She can't handle having both of us there."

Lucas squeezed Peyton's arm reassuringly, "I really have to go Peyton, I might not understand fully, but I won't push you."

A single tear escaped Peyton's eye, sliding down her cheek. Peyton bit her bottom lip and nodded.

Lucas gave her a quick hug, before turning away from her.

Just as Lucas had left, Peyton bent down to the floor, covering her face.

_Brooke had been there when she had lost her mom. Brooke was the one person that had always been there for her. Now that Brooke needed her, she wasn't able to go. _

Lucas barged into Brooke's room, and the sight broke his heart. Brooke sat alone on the floor against the wall, looking so small and fragile. Her face was in her arms, and he could see her shake slightly from crying. She wore her pajama's still, and Lucas imagined how horrible it must be to be awoken by the phone ringing, and finding out your mom had passed away.

"Brooke," Lucas whispered.

Brooke stopped crying, her breath caught in her throat.

"Do not even fucking tell me," Brooke muttered, looking up at him is anger.

Her tear stained devastated face made him want to grab her and hold her forever. Tell her everything will be fine, and take all her pain away. But her anger kept him away.

"How dare you Lucas!" she muttered.

"Brooke, I'm so sorry, I heard and I'm just so sorry,"

"Cut the crap Lucas, I don't want your stupid pity, just leave me alone." Brooke whispered, holding her sobs in, but couldn't stop the tears that spilled from her eyes.

Lucas had never felt so broken hearted. "Brooke please let me help you,"

"How will you help me Lucas? Can you make my mom come alive? Huh? Face it Lucas, you can't do anything but hurt me,"

"Brooke, please-…" Lucas begged, talking a hesitant step toward her, his own eyes tearing up.

"Don't you _dare_ come near me Lucas; you have hurt me so much."

"Brooke, you broke up with me, why are you doing this,"

"Like I had a choice, I finally saw what everyone else sees. You and Peyton will always end up together, and you proved it to me. When we broke up, you went right back to her!"

"Me and Peyton aren't going out!"

"I don't care anymore! My mom just died, I don't care about what goes on between you and Peyton, can you just get the fuck out?"

"Brooke, why are you pushing me away, I want to be here for you, I want to help you."

Brooke laughed sarcastically, "You can't. You don't have the right to be here for me. I don't want you,"

"I know what you're trying. You think by saying shit that hurts me will make me go away. I'm not going to go away Brooke."

Brooke couldn't keep it in anymore, and broke out sobbing. "Please Lucas, leave,"

Lucas stepped closer and pulled Brooke up and into his arms. Brooke struggled for a bit, trying to push him away.

"Let go of me Lucas!"

Brooke tried to take him arms off of her, by pulling at his hands, and pushing at his chest. But Lucas only tightened his grip and let her tiny fist take out her anger by hitting his chest with all her might.

Finally, when she realized that he wasn't going to let go, she broke down and sobbed against his chest. Lucas kept his grip firm, but gentle, and let her cry on his chest.

"Lucas, my mom," she managed between sobs.

"I know Brooke, I'm so sorry," Lucas whispered in her ears soothingly.

They stayed like that for a bit. Lucas ran his hand up and down her back soothingly, and let Brooke mourn for her mom.

Haley took a seat next to Nathan on the couch, "I feel so bad for Brooke right now. Even though her mom was barely ever around, Brooke adored her parents; she used to admire her mom, and talked about her so lovingly."

Nathan nodded, "Brooke was already going through shit, she didn't deserve for this to happen too. But didn't she dump Lucas, why was she upset with him?"

"Nathan, it wasn't that simple. Brooke was confused, when Peyton told her she still had feelings for Lucas, it scared her. She was always insecure about Lucas's feelings for Peyton, but finding out that Peyton loved him, just made her feel like now Lucas would want Peyton. And, Lucas told me the Brooke caught them together at the mall yesterday."

"Lucas is such a dickhead."

"He should stop hurting Brooke, and just go back to Peyton already."

"I know! Wait… what? _Peyton?_ Haley, Lucas and Brooke are supposed to be together. Are you honestly taking Peyton's side?"

"I'm not talking anyone's side Nathan. I love Brooke, and she doesn't deserve to be hurt the way he hurts her with his feelings for Peyton. He should just go to Peyton, and Brooke could finally move on."

"No, I know Lucas, and sure we might not have been the best of buddies growing up, but he's still a Scott, and I see the look he gives Brooke. The way he acts around Brooke, I know he still loves her, and she's the person that he should be with."

"Lucas has been my best friend for as long as I could remember. I know him very well Nathan. Nothing against Brooke, but at the start, Lucas was attracted to the wildness that Brooke brought to his life, with Peyton, he had a connection, and its still not broken, that's what hurts Brooke. And I understand that, I wouldn't want to be with a man that will always have something with another girl!"

"Hun, why are we turning this into an argument, all I'm saying is have you heard the saying, opposites attract? Peyton and Lucas are so alike; they're both the cool collected people that would never do anything too outrageous. Brooke is crazy, like you said, that had initially attracted him, and his calm nature attracted her."

"Nathan, don't try to come and pretend like you know everything so well. You don't know this type of stuff."

"I know that we are the best example for it. I was as crazy as Brooke, and I was instantly attracted to you. Me and Brooke are alike, kind of like you and Lucas. We fell in love. And I think they did too."

Haley sighed, "It's nothing like that. We had no Peyton,"

Nathan rolled his eyes, "Haley, I thought you knew Lucas better,"

"I do, that's why I'm saying that he will always have something with Peyton, which would never go well with Brooke, and thus they would never be happy,"

Nathan shrugged, "I still say Brooke is who Lucas loves,"

Haley nodded, "I wish it were for Brooke's sake, but Peyton also loves Lucas, so I don't know,"

Brooke sat beside Lucas on her bed. She was leaning into his arms, and her head was resting on his chest. No words were being spoken. They just sat there in silence.

At times like these, Brooke realized how much she missed being with Lucas, he had a way of making even the silence comfortable.

Brooke had flashes of her times with her mom. She remembered being really young, and when she had scraped her knee trying to ride her bike, her mom had picked her up and nursed her bruise and planted kisses on her face until she had stopped crying. That was her favorite memory, it was before traveling had become important, and before business was her number one favorite.

Brooke smiled slightly at the memory of her conversations with her mom, they rarely talked, but when they did, her mom would let her go on and on about her problems.

Then she remembered when her mom was leaving her for the first time when she was young. She had thrown herself at her mom's legs, and wouldn't let go. Her mom had picked her up and wiped away her tears, before handing her off to her babysitter.

After that, she had never cried when her mom left. She had liked being close to her mom, and being able to hug her, Brooke knew that if she cried, her mom would hand her to her babysitter.

And eventually, Brooke stopped even going out to see her when she left, at times she wouldn't even come home the day she left. And eventually, her mom came home less and less, to hardly ever.

Brooke felt tears spring to her eyes, and her throat became all choked up again. Lucas squeezed her close and whispered soothing words into her hair.

Brooke smiled at Lucas through her tears, "I'm sorry, you could go if you want Luke,"

"There is no other place I'd rather be, then here with you Brooke," Lucas whispered sincerely.

Brooke smiled, and stood up, pulling him with her.

"Well I think its time to stop this pity party, and I think I'm going to call my dad, _you_ need to go home and get some rest, its tiring having a girl cry on you for a few hours." Brooke joked, leading him to the door.

"Why do I feel like I'm getting kicked out?" Lucas teased.

Brooke laughed but soon her smile faded, "Thank you so much Luke, I didn't think I needed anyone right now, but you have a way of showing up and being there for me, even when I don't know I need someone, you know?"

Lucas nodded, "So do you Brooke."

Brooke smiled sadly, and watched him go.

Lucas walked home, a small smile playing at his lips. He was glad Brooke let him be there for her. He was happy with the amount of time they had spent together. It was weeks since him and Brooke had spoken properly.

Lucas entered his room, and was startled to see Peyton sitting on his bed.

She looked up at him and stood up quickly, "How was she Lucas?"

Lucas frowned, "I still think you should go see her."

"Lucas, stop it! Just tell me please, how was she?"

"How do you think she was Peyton, you know her."

Peyton felt tears roll down her cheek, "Why are you doing this Lucas, why can't you just answer!"

"Her mom just died Peyton, she was upset. She needed someone, and even though I was there for her, I know she needed her best friend, the one that knew her best," Lucas answered gently.

Peyton wiped away her tears, but new ones took their place, "Lucas, that's just it, I know her. I know that even though she needs me now, she doesn't want me there. Not now, not yet. I know seeing me, would upset her, and she's stubborn, she won't me in. Not yet,"

Lucas sighed and led the teary Peyton back to his bed. "Peyton, I know it hurts you not to be able to be there for her, and I'm sorry. I'll never forgive myself for getting in between you guys, and I'm so sorry."

Peyton squeezed Lucas's hand, "It wasn't your fault Lucas. The first time, we were both _equally_ to blame, but this second time, it was my entire fault. It was my fault you two broke up and it's my fault that mine and Brooke's friendship broke apart." Peyton muttered tearfully, "And I'm so sorry Lucas,"

Lucas got up off the bed and kneeled in front of her. "Peyton, it wasn't you fault. Don't blame yourself, the first time I shouldn't have been the asshole to pursue you while I was with Brooke. This second time, it wasn't your fault at all. It was Brooke insecurities about us that got in the way, and I'm not even entirely sure the real reason of our break up." Lucas whispered, pushing Peyton's chin up and forcing her to look him in the eye.

Peyton wouldn't do it, and just closed her eyes. "No Lucas, she wouldn't have if I-…"

"No Peyton, stop blaming yourself, I'm serious, if I don't blame you, then why do you?" Lucas insisted.

Peyton looked into Lucas's sincere eyes and smiled slightly, "I love the person you are Lucas," she whispered.

Lucas gulped when he noticed her lean in closer to him. He wanted to pull away; he wanted to work things out with Brooke, but…

Before their lips could meet, they heard a gasp behind them.

Lucas silently prayed inside as he turned around.

And sure enough, just what he feared most, there stood Brooke.

Brooke couldn't help the tears the pooled around her eyes, disgusted by the guilty looking pair in front of her.

"You fucking bastard."

Lucas stood up, "Brooke, this isn't-…"

"Don't you dare even fucking tell me this isn't what it looks like! Honestly Lucas, shut the hell up, can you honestly stand there and tell me you two weren't just about to _kiss?_" Brooke screamed.

Peyton stood up, "Brooke I'm-…"

"Sorry? Sorry for what Peyton? That you didn't even care to come to me when I've just lost me mom? Or sorry that you can't keep your hands off of the man I had thought I loved?"

Peyton looked away, "Brooke-…"

"No, shut the hell up. I have always been there for you, Peyton, when you needed me most, I was there for you, when you lost your mom, I cried with you, and felt like I had lost my mom, because that's how much I cared for you Peyton, but you? I guess I never knew you at all; I didn't know you'd go on and stab me in the back every time I turned around. I forgave you the first time, but now? How _could_ you? Even a slut wouldn't go after her friends' man, what kind of shit are you? How could you love the man that you know I love?"

"Brooke, I know I've hurt you, and I'm so sorry, but I knew you wouldn't want me there at a time like this, I know you Brooke, and I know you wouldn't have liked it if I came to you."

"You still should've tried, because that's what friends do. Sure I don't want you any where near me at a time like this, but at least I could say, my backstabbing ex best friend gave a shit when my mom died, and came to tell me that she even noticed."

"Brooke. I'm sorry." Peyton muttered.

Brooke turned around and stormed out of the bedroom, Lucas was about to follow her, when Peyton stopped him, "Let me talk to her first please,"

Lucas nodded.

Peyton stopped Brooke on the sidewalk.

"Brooke I'm sorry about everything. I'm sorry about what you saw in there, and I'm sorry I didn't come to you."

Brooke turned around, "Let's start off by what I saw in there. I break it off with Lucas, and you're all over him the second I leave him. Seriously, who the hell are you, because I know this can't be the girl I had once considered my best friend." Brooke demanded.

"Brooke please stop it, I know I hurt you, but you're not with Lucas, what do you want me to do? You know I love him, and if you're not with him, why can't I be?" Peyton asked.

"Excuse me? You did not just ask me that."

Peyton sighed, "Brooke I know I hurt you, and I'm really sorry, but you had said that my kiss with Lucas wasn't the reason you broke up, then I don't get it."

"Peyton, you told me you loved him-…"

"Exactly Brooke, that's the reason I want him. It isn't like a random thing where you dump him and I go for him right away to hurt you. You know that I love him. And if you don't want him, the why can't I be with him?"

"If you don't get that by now, then you were some shitty ass friend." Brooke stated simply, before getting in her car.

Peyton watched her go with tears in her eyes.

"Peyton, what's wrong?"

Peyton turned around to see Haley walking up to her.

Peyton smiled sadly, "That was Brooke," she muttered, nodding toward the direction her car had just turned.

Haley winced, "And this is Lucas's house. I think I can guess what might have happened."

"I don't want to hurt her Haley, it's just, I really can't help the way I feel about Lucas. I love Brooke, and if I could I would take away telling her about my feelings for Lucas, but I can't. And every time I'm around Lucas, I don't what happens to me. I really love him."

Haley nodded, giving Peyton a hug. "I think Lucas really cares about you too. But, I don't think this was the best timing for her to have seen you two. I'm going to be honestly, I love Brooke, and I don't like seeing her hurt, and you two do that to her. But I can't blame your feelings, because I know that they can't be helped at times. I just don't like seeing you guys all hurt."

Peyton nodded sadly, "Do you think she'll ever forgive me?"

"Knowing Brooke, I do think she will eventually forgive you. Right now, there's a lot of stuff happening in her life, and you can't blame her for being mad."

"Do you think I should stay away from Lucas?"

"Do you love him?"

"More then you know,"

"Then I don't think you should. If he loves you too, then you two deserve to be together, but don't flaunt it in front of Brooke, and hopefully she'll move on too."

Peyton smiled, "Thanks Haley, thanks for not hating me, I'm so glad I have you, I don't know what I would've done without you Haley," she mumbled, pulling her into a hug.

Brooke wiped her tears from her face as she pulled into Haley and Nathan's driveway. When she entered, she was disappointed to see only Nathan sitting on the couch flipping through channels.

Nathan looked up at her surprised, "Brooke-…"

"Nathan, is Haley home?" Brooke asked, not able to keep in the tears for much longer.

"No. she's out,"

That was it; it was all it took to make her explode in tears.

"Oh shit, Brooke, don't cry," Nathan panicked, making room for Brooke on the couch.

"You don't get it Nathan; everything is just so fucked up in my life!" Brooke sobbed.

"I heard about you mom," Nathan muttered in sympathy.

"No, that's not everything. Lucas had come over, and was there for me, and everything was cool between us. When he left, I talked to my dad, and I just got all emotional and teary again, so I went over to Lucas's, and guess what I saw. There he was with Peyton, and they were about to kiss."

Nathan clucked his tongue. "That must've sucked."

Brooke nodded, "It really did, and then Peyton comes after me, and was all _I'm sorry I hurt you, _and then she's all _if you don't want Lucas, then why can't I have him_," Brooke explained, "And like what the hell, she fully knows about everything, like what caused me to break up with Lucas, she knows that it had something to do with her admitting her love for my boyfriend at the time, I feel like I seriously don't know her anymore."

Nathan put an arm around Brooke's shoulders, "Brooke I'm sorry, but if it helps any, I honestly think Lucas loves you."

"Nathan weren't you listening, he was about to kiss Peyton, I love him so much, and if he loved me, he wouldn't go around kissing my ex best friend."

"I get that. He's pretty screwed up. I know he cares about both of you, but Brooke, you broke up with him, and he knows Peyton wants him. There was a time he really cared about her, and I don't know, but I think he really loves you."

Brooke smiled at Nathan, "I seriously don't know why I didn't get to you before Haley did. She really lucked out," she teased.

Nathan laughed, "I know why. You and I are too alike."

Brooke laughed, "Yeah, we really are known for who we are eh?"

Nathan smirked. "Plus, in our cases, we're attracted to our opposites, did you ever notice that Lucas and Haley are pretty similar, and exact opposites from us."

Brooke nodded smiling, "Seriously Nathan, I'm glad I have a friend like you,"

Lucas sat on his bed, putting his head in his hands.

He sighed in frustration; he didn't know what to do. He wanted to call Brooke, but he didn't know what to say. He couldn't deny what Brooke saw. He hated himself for screwing things with Brooke again. He wished for everything to just go back to this afternoon, when he had left Brooke's place, and they were cool.

But he also wanted to call Peyton. She hadn't come back in after everything. But he was kind of glad, because he would be too embarrassed to look at her.

Lucas ran his hand through his hair; he wished he could just make a decision. He knew he wanted to be with Brooke, but then why couldn't he control himself around Peyton. But if he gave up on Brooke, and started a relationship with Peyton, he didn't know if he could turn off his feelings for Brooke.

Lucas lay back on his bed, and sighed.

Lucas couldn't sleep all night. He couldn't get that almost kiss with Peyton and Brooke's face when she caught them out of his head.

That almost kiss replayed in his head in slow motion so many times it made his head spin. When it would finally disappear, Brooke's face when she saw them in that position would come to his mind. The hurt that had taken over her face, she had looked so vulnerable and alone.

Lucas had finally had enough, and had got up, giving up on hopes of sleep. He splashed his face with water, and looked at himself in the mirror. He wished that the tired looking Lucas in the mirror would tell him who he was meant to be with.

Lucas felt so torn between the two of them

With him and Peyton, there was a click right at the start. From the moment they had met, there was something there. He could sit with Peyton for hours, and they would talk and talk, and understand each other so well. He could tell her everything he felt, like there was nothing he had to hold back from her. She did things that made him care for her so much. He felt like he knew her so well, like no matter what, she would be someone he could rely on.

With Brooke, at times he felt like he didn't know her at all. She did things that puzzled him, and she could anger him like no other. But then she had this way of always making him give in, and forgive her little mistakes. He felt like there was so much to discover of Brooke, so many layers of mystery that surrounded her, and that annoyed him, yet excited him the same. He could never be sure of what she'd do next, or how she would react over things. She would say things so bluntly, in ways that made people cringe, but she cared for people so deeply, all the negatives and positives just made him love that about her.

Lucas groaned, it sucked that they use to be best friends, the two girls that he loved use to be best friends. He would never get over the fact that he had destroyed a friendship that had been so special.

When his reflection didn't give him any answers, he turned away from himself, and picked up a picture from his desk. It was a picture of him, Peyton, Brooke, Haley, and Nathan. That picture had been taken before him and Brooke had gotten together the second time.

Nathan and Haley were at the side, their arms around each other affectionately. Beside them, Lucas had his arms around both Brooke and Peyton. Lucas smiled, in the picture; he had been smirking trying to look like a big shot that was holding the two beautiful ladies. Peyton wore a natural smile on her face, squinting from the sun light. One of her hands was on Lucas's arm the other hand went across his chest, and covered Brooke's hand. Brooke was jokingly striking a sexy pose. Her hands were on Lucas's chest, and she had puckered her lips. To add to the whole dramatic pose, she had bent her left knee, raising it off the ground, and leaning into Lucas.

Lucas smiled, looking at the two girls. Their pictures matched their personality so perfectly.

Haley entered her house, and was surprised to see Nathan sitting on the couch with Brooke. They were munching on chips, and laughing at something.

"Oh my god, Brooke, I'm so glad to see you," Haley gasped, surprised that Brooke had left her room, and came to meet her.

Brooke looked up at Haley and grinned, "Yeah, I'm sorry about not letting you in earlier." Brooke apologized.

"You don't have to apologize, I totally understand. It's okay. I'm glad to see your doing better, and I'm sorry I wasn't home when you came."

Brooke waved her hand dismissively, "Nah, its okay. I got to have a great talk with my buddy Nathan."

Haley laughed, "Your _buddy_,"

Brooke grinned, but was surprised when she noticed how late it was getting. "C'mon lets have a quick talk before I go,"

Haley nodded, and led her to another room.

Brooke turned to Haley, and told her everything from Lucas coming over, to catching Lucas about to kiss Peyton.

Haley cringed, "I'm sorry your day sucked,"

Brooke nodded sadly, "Lucas is just so confusing. First he's with me, acting like I'm the most important thing to him, and then he's about to kiss Peyton. It hurts so much Hales, like when I stop thinking about my mom, I think about Lucas and Peyton. I don't know what to do, you know."

Haley sighed, "I love you so much Brooke, and that's why I'm telling you this, as much as I love Lucas as well, I don't think you'll be happy with him. He's hurt you twice, and for the same reason, and I honestly think he'd do it again; he'd end up hurting you again Brooke. I don't like seeing you get hurt, and you do every time you get together with Lucas. You deserve so much better Brooke."

Brooke sighed, "I still love him Haley... I don't know. I'm really confused right now. But obviously he's not, and he knows what he wants." Brooke whispered sadly.

Haley brought Brooke into a comforting hug, before Brooke left.

Haley sat beside Nathan. "Thanks for being there for Brooke when she needed someone," Haley whispered, bringing Nathan into a hug.

"She seemed pretty bummed out, but I told her that Lucas does love her, even though he can be a dick at times."

"What! Nathan! You told Brooke that? No wonder she's confused. Like I'm telling her to move on from Lucas, and you're telling her that he still loves her." Haley yelled, slapping Nathan's arm.

"I just told her what I think is true. I already told you Haley, Lucas does love Brooke, and I feel bad for Brooke. I think telling her about Lucas's feelings will help her stay strong at a time like this."

"No, Nathan, what Brooke needs is to be able to move on from Lucas, so she can stop getting hurt by him! He keeps going to Peyton, so let them be together, maybe their meant to be, I want Brooke to move on so she can stop getting hurt by the two of them!"

"But Lucas doesn't love Peyton! Don't you care about Brooke at all? You know that she loves Lucas, she's just insecure about his feelings for Peyton, and if we don't help get rid of those insecurities she will never be able to be happy. I know the way Brooke thinks, it's very similar to the way I would think, and trust my Haley, she won't be happy without Lucas. She'll probably end up going back to her sleeping around ways, and she won't be happy like that either."

"You don't get it Nathan. Peyton really loves Lucas. And obviously Lucas really cares about her too that he always ends up being with her. Him and Peyton almost kissed tonight, if he really cared about Brooke, he wouldn't do that right?"

Nathan shook his head, "I thought you and Brooke were really close,"

"We are! That's why I don't want her to get hurt again," Haley yelled in disgust.

When Brooke drove into the driveway, she was surprised to see Lucas sitting on her porch.

"What the hell do you want?" Brooke snapped.

"Brooke, I need to talk to you,"

"Oh, you found time for me, I mean, you could still be making out with Peyton right now, you're really wasting time," Brooke muttered harshly.

Lucas sighed, "Brooke, I want to ask you a question,"

Brooke rolled her eyes, and took out her keys to open her door, "Leave me alone,"

Brooke opened her door, and was about to shut the door on him when-...

"Is there any chance we can still be together?" Lucas asked.

Brooke's mouth hung open slightly. Brooke stepped outside again, and leaned in closer to him.

"You did not just ask me that,"

"Brooke, I really need to know,"

"I find you with my ex best friend, not long after we split up, and you have the guts to ask me that,"

Lucas looked away sheepishly, "Brooke-..."

"It's 2 in the morning Lucas, maybe you should go home –or better yet, go to your whore's house,"

Lucas cringed, "Brooke, I can't sleep, I really want to talk to you. About what you saw earlier-..."

"Don't even try to give me any lame excuses for that, don't insult me like that. You really think I'm that stupid Lucas. But you know what. It doesn't matter does it? I mean, we're not going out, why the hell should I care about your latest fuck?" Brooke hissed.

Lucas frowned, "Brooke, please just answer the question. I want to know,"

Brooke frowned.

_Brooke I'm sorry, but if it helps any, I honestly think Lucas loves you._

_He's hurt you twice, and for the same reason, and I honestly think he'd do it again; he'd end up hurting you again Brooke. I don't like seeing you get hurt, and you do every time you get together with Lucas. You deserve so much better Brooke_

… _He'd end up hurting you again Brooke_

"No Chance in Hell," Brooke answered in disgust.

When she saw Lucas's hurt face, she continued, "I wanted to be with you so bad Lucas. When we broke up, I wanted so badly for you to fight for me. To tell me that you couldn't be without me, that you did miss me, I wanted you to _fight_ for me Luke. And today, when you were here with me, I thought it meant something. I thought that you still loved me Luke. When I was upset later, I came to _you. _I wanted to be with you again. I didn't know about the surprise you would give me."

"Brooke I-..."

"Sorry Lucas. I have to go," And with that, Brooke turned and stepped inside.

When Lucas got back home, he was startled to see Peyton sitting on his bed again.

Peyton looked up at him embarrassed, "Sorry, I got kind of scared alone,"

Lucas smiled slightly, "Its okay Peyton,"

"Uhm, about earlier, I'm really sorry I screwed things up with you and Brooke –_again._"

Lucas shook his head, "Stop it Peyton, it wasn't your fault. I was as much to blame. She just mistook what she saw."

"What? You mean, we weren't going to kiss?" Peyton asked hurt.

Lucas blushed, "Oh, um, well. I don't know, maybe?"

Peyton sighed. "Lucas, stop. I can't take it anymore. Just tell me please,"

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me what's happening between us. They way we are with each other, isn't the normal friend way. I know I have feelings for you, and you know that too. At times, I feel like you have feelings for me too. I know we were going to kiss earlier, like we did that other day. But you confuse me. You kiss me, and then you pull way. I know you feel guilty, but Lucas, tell me if we have a chance. Are you going to keep fighting for Brooke, or do you want to be with me, Lucas?" Peyton asked, biting her lip nervously.

Lucas turned red, "Peyton-..."

"Please, just tell me Lucas, and I won't be mad at you if you want to be with Brooke, I just need to know. I want to know if there's a chance for us, I want to know if there's a point of me pursuing you."

_I don't want you anymore Lucas_

_You and Peyton will always end up together_

_Why the hell should I care about your latest fuck?_

_No Chance in Hell_

_No Chance in Hell_

_No Chance in Hell..._

Lucas stepped closer, and pressed his lips against Peyton's.

It had been a week since Lucas and Peyton had gotten together, and Peyton couldn't have been happier. True, she was still upset over Brooke not talking to her, but it was nice to finally be able to be with the guy she loved.

Peyton leaned back in her chair, counting down the minutes until class would finally be over, and Lucas would be waiting for her at her locker.

They hadn't really seen Brooke around the school, but Peyton knew that she was around, and was avoiding them. Peyton really longed to talk to her, but she knew Brooke, and Brooke really hated her right now.

Peyton tried listening to the teachers ramble, but failed, she couldn't forget the way the past week had been. Lucas was the greatest guy she had ever been with. The way he took her in his arms made her feel like the luckiest women alive.

The harsh school bell brought her out of her thoughts, as she quickly gathered her books and headed out. Just like she had thought, Lucas was waiting for her at her locker. She smiled at him, pecking his lips softly. It was so weird; they could finally display emotions out in public.

"What's wrong, you seem a little upset?" Lucas asked worried.

"Major headache, stupid science," Peyton muttered, rubbing her temples softly.

Lucas smiled, bringing her into a hug, "You want me to take you home?"

Peyton shook her head, "Don't worry about it, I have a project I have to work on today with my group, so I was just on my way over to library."

"You want me to come?"

"Ha, like I would get much work done with you there with me," Peyton joked, pulling away for Lucas.

Lucas pouted. Causing Peyton to smile and give him another peck on his lips before leaving.

Lucas sighed, heading in the opposite direction toward his car.

"It's Brooke right?"

Brooke turned around smiling at him, "Stalker?"

"Actually, the names Max," he grinned.

Brooke shook her head. Brooke eyed the new basketball player, the guy was pretty cute, but she wasn't ready to start anything with anyone right now. She was about to turn away from him when she saw Lucas step out. Without thinking, Brooke stepped closer to Max, touching his chest flirtatiously.

"Max eh? Hmm. And I'm guessing you're new?"

He smirked, happy to have her attention, "How do you guess that?"

"Well I don't remember seeing you around, and I know I would've remembered your face if I had seen you before," Brooke whispered huskily.

Lucas heard a _very _familiar laugh, and turned his head to the right.

There Brooke stood, all over this new guy. Lucas frowned, stepping toward them automatically.

"What's going on here?" Lucas asked, walking up the pair.

Brooke glared at him, "What's it to you?"

Lucas glared, and was about to respond, when Max stepped away for Brooke slightly.

"Sorry dude, I didn't know you guys together," he apologized.

"Puhlease," Brooke muttered, "We're not going out Max, far from it I hardly know this guy,"

Lucas looked over at Brooke hurt.

"Can I just talk to her privately for a second," In more of a statement then a question. Max shrugged, stepping away from them.

"Brooke?"

"I honestly don't. You're not the guy I thought I had loved," Brooke hissed, before walking away for him and taking Max's arm.

Lucas watched them walk away and sighed. Lucas knew she was only doing this to get back at him, but it still hurt. He had always somewhat cared about Peyton, but she didn't even know this guy. She had only met him today.

"Can I take you out tonight?" Max asked hopefully, stopping to look at her.

Brooke smiled, "Sorry, I'm going to be busy tonight," She lied.

Max pouted, Ok, but you can't refuse a snack. Let me take you out for some coffee or drinks or whatever?"

Brooke didn't really want to go, but she had used him earlier, and so she finally gave in, "Fine, but no funny stuff mister," she joked.

Max laughed, "Damn," he mock pouted.

Brooke rolled her eyes playfully, "Let's go,"

Peyton stepped outside of the library to find Lucas waiting for her.

Peyton gasped, "Lucas! Don't tell me you waited here the whole time?"

Lucas grinned, stepping out of his car, "Fine, I won't tell you,"

"Oh my god, did you really?"

Lucas motioned for Peyton to get in, "Yeah, I didn't know how long you'd take, so I didn't want to risk leaving for a bit and you choosing that time to leave… you know, like in the movies and shit,"

Peyton laughed rolling her eyes, "God Lucas,"

Lucas took Peyton to his house, earning a raised eyebrow from Peyton.

"So this is why you waited, you were planning on taking me to your house so you could seduce me!" she accused jokingly.

"Ha, you caught me! That's exactly why I waited," Lucas joked, leading Peyton inside.

When they were in his room, Peyton pushed Lucas down on his bed. Lucas looked up at Peyton in shock.

"I like this aggressive side of you,"

Peyton hid a smirk, as she climbed on beside him. Peyton's face hovered inches away from Lucas'.

"I think you should be rewarded for what you did,"

"I totally agree," Lucas whispered.

Peyton lowered her face, and just as their lips met, Peyton's cell rang.

Lucas groaned as Peyton pulled away from him, giving him an apologetic smile before putting her phone to her ear.

Lucas waited impatiently as Peyton spoke into her phone, when she off, she gave Lucas a kiss on the cheek, grabbing her purse.

Lucas grabbed her arm, "Where you going?"

"Sorry Lucas, I totally forgot about a hair appointment I had today."

"What? Your hair are perfect Peyton, don't go,"

Peyton smiled, giving him a pat on his head before leaving.

Lucas sighed, lying back on his bed. Images of Brooke and Max flooded his head. The way she leaned so close to him, and touched his chest really bothered him.

Lucas grabbed his keys and headed out.

Max parked the car in front of Rachel's house, and turned to Brooke.

"Can I get a goodnight kiss for my pleasant company tonight?" he asked smirking.

"I would have kissed you, I mean if you company _had_ in fact been pleasant." Brooke jokingly answered.

Max pouted, feigning hurt, "Wow Davis, that really hurt,"

Brooke grinned, leaning forward and pecking his cheek.

Disappointment was evident on Max's face, but he was accepted what he got, and smiled at her.

Brooke opened her door and stepped out, "See you later M,"

Brooke walked up to her porch and was about to step in, when-…

"Brooke!"

Brooke turned around to see Lucas walking up the driveway, and frowned.

"Seriously, why don't you just leave me the hell alone?"

Lucas sighed, "Just want to talk to you,"

"Well I just want you to drop dead." Brooke paused for a second, "Ah, didn't happen, I guess everyone doesn't get what they want do they?"

"Why are you still so mad at me Brooke, it's apparent you've moved on-…"

"Don't even start with my Lucas," Brooke stated, walking into the house.

Lucas followed her in, and grabbed her arm, turning her around, "Then what were you doing with Max today?"

Brooke pulled her arm away from him, "None of you god damn business! Go fuck Peyton, leave me alone,"

This angered Lucas, "Mine and Peyton's relationship isn't only about sex, that's not all I want from her, but that is all Max wants from you-…"

Before Lucas could finish he felt a hard smack against his right cheek. Lucas's hand flew to his stinging cheek as he looked up at the fuming Brooke, "How _dare_ you, how the fuck dare you say that all Max wants from me is sex."

"Brooke, I know the type of guy he is, he's just looking for a one night thing, he isn't-…"

"Max is new, so don't tell me you know what kind of person he is. You're a fucking bastard you know that? You didn't want to be with me, and now you're mad that someone else does,"

"Brooke, I _did_ want to be with you, but you told me it would never happen. So I don't know why you're so mad,"

"Why I'm mad? _Lucas, _after we broke up, you didn't wait a month before you started going out with my best friend. How do you think that makes me feel?" Brooke asked, starting to tear up, "You started things up with Peyton the same fucking day my mom died Luke, how could you do that to me?" Brooke asked, now fat tears rolling down her cheek.

Lucas was shocked. He never realized he had done that, and even more, he never thought it had hurt Brooke this much.

He looked at the tearful Brooke in front of him, and once again, she managed to make his heart feel like it had been shattered into millions of pieces.

Brooke wiped away her tears quickly, clearing her throat to gather herself again.

"Just get out Luke,"

Lucas shook his head, "Brooke, I'm so sorry, and I know that means nothing to you after what I did, but I honestly didn't mean to hurt you like this." Lucas pleaded, putting his arms around Brooke soothingly, "And even though you don't want to be with me, I don't think you should be with Max. I don't have a good feeling about the guy Brooke, please just don't,"

Brooke glared at him through her tears, pushing him away bitterly. "Who the hell do you think you are? I'll never forgive you guys for what you did, never. You guys did that to me after what I was already going through, if any of you had cared about me even a little, you wouldn't have decided to hook up then. And now Lucas, you've lost the right to tell me who or what you think isn't right for me,"

"Brooke-…" Lucas begged, his eyes pleading with hers.

Brooke shook her head, "Please… just fucking leave," Brooke yelled tearfully.


	2. Chapter 2

Brooke threw herself on her bed sobbing_. Why couldn't Lucas just leave her the hell alone? Every time she tried to forget the pain they caused her, he would do something like this. She hated how he pretended to care about her. _

Brooke got up off her bed looking around her room frantically. She rummaged through a few of the drawers in her desk like a mad women. Until… she finally found it.

Brooke glared down at the picture held in her tight grasp. It was of her and Lucas from when they were together. It was a picture of her in a casual back tank top and a pair of fitted jeans, smiling back at Lucas, who had his arms wrapped around her from behind, looking down at her affectionately. This was one picture she had never been able to throw away. The way Lucas was looking at her in the picture had always managed to send shivers tingling down her spine; he looked at her like she was the only girl in the world. It was so protective and passionate, that it as hot!

But now, Brooke looked down at it in disgust. _It was all fake… all if it. He never loved me. Everything was just fake. _

"It was all a show," Brooke mumbled numbly, "How could it all have been so fake?"

_How could he play with her like that? How could he make her love him again, when all he wanted was her best friend? _

Brooke took a lighter from the drawer, and stepped out into the balcony. She looked down at the picture, her eyes emotionless. Brooke flicked the lighter on, and brought one corner of the picture toward the fire. The fire caught on to the picture violently. Unfazed, Brooke watched the fire make its way to the affectionate pair in the middle. Quickly, Lucas's left arm and her whole left side disappeared, and then, the fire destroyed the pair. When the fire was a few inches away from her finger, Brooke put the picture down and watched it turn to black ashes.

_It was over. Everything was over. Lucas couldn't play with her anymore and they would never be together. _

A single tear escaped her eye, as she turned and walked back into the room.

Lucas stood in front of Brooke's house still. He had stared at the door that she had pushed him out of moments earlier, a part of him wishing she would open it, and come out to him.

Suddenly, a weird feeling past through him that he couldn't really place, he just felt some sort of emptiness inside.

It was like he was mourning something, and he didn't know what. Someone was gone, and he was scared to think it was Brooke.

Lucas saw the light go off in Brooke's room, causing him to finally turn around and go back home.

"Nathan, get off the stupid TV," Haley scolded, annoyed.

"Just one more minute, the game's almost over, I swear this time," he mumbled, leaning to the left to see the TV around Haley, who had stood in front of him.

"That's what you said _the last five times!_ I'm bored, and a pregnant bored girl isn't fun!"

Nathan sighed, pulling Haley down on his laps lamely.

Haley rolled her eyes, "If you think-…" before she could finish her sentence, Brooke barged in through the door.

"We really got to stop giving out spare keys," Nathan joked, but quickly stopped laughing when he saw Brooke in tears.

"I hate him!" Brooke muttered, when Haley rushed to her and brought her into a hug.

"What happened, Brooke?" Haley asked worried.

"It's Lucas. He's such a bastard, he won't let me forget. He came over tonight and made this scene about why I'm so mad, and how he doesn't want me with Max or whatever,"

"Whoa Max? The new guy on the basketball team, what does Lucas have against him, he seems alright?" Nathan added thoughtfully.

"I know! You know what he said to me? He told me him and Peyton were more then sex, but that was all Max wanted from _me!_" Brooke cried.

Haley gasped, "He actually said that?" Haley asked, getting angry.

"Bastard move," Nathan muttered.

"I can't believe he had the nerve to say that." Haley whispered.

"I know. Every time I try to forget about them, why does he keep showing up, and throwing his relationship with Peyton in my face. And then he has the nerve to tell me who I shouldn't be with," 

Haley frowned, "Brooke calm down, everything will be fine, let me get you water," she whispered.

"I hate your step brother," Brooke declared to Nathan.

Nathan raised his hands in defense, "For sure, but it does show he's jealous of you being with Max,"

Brooke wiped away her tears slowly, "What are you trying to say, Nate?"

"I know its bad timing, but its funny that he still cares about who you want to get involved with you know? I mean he's a throughout bastard, but I find it interesting that he would come over to your house and try to talk you out of being with Max, seems pretty jealous ex boyfriend to me," Nathan explained.

Brooke frowned, "He wants to be with Peyton, and yet he doesn't want me to move on?" she muttered, "Well, I'll show him that he has no right over me, and you know what, if me being with Max pisses him off, then that's exactly what I'll do!" Brooke declared.

Nathan gasped, "No wait! That's not what I-…"

"Thanks Nathan, tell Haley to cancel the water, bye!" Brooke said hurriedly, grabbing her purse and leaving the house.

"Shit!" Nathan muttered.

The next day, Peyton and Lucas walked down the hallway arm in arm. Peyton looked up at Lucas grinning, "I love being with you, you know that right?"

Lucas smiled, "I hope so, because I love being with you too," he stated, giving her a peck on the lips.

Peyton smiled, pulling away from Lucas, "I have to get to class early to meet up with my group and get things ready for our presentation,"

Lucas nodded, bringing her into a quick kiss. Unknown to him, Brooke had seen all this from her locker.

Brooke frowned at the pair, and looked away annoyed, _it's like they can't go any where without making out first. _

"Hey hot stuff,"

Brooke rolled her eyes, shutting her locker to face Max.

"Hey," she said, giving him a fake smile.

Max put his arms around Brooke, bringing her closer to him, "So what do you say, we make this thing official, make me the lucky new guy who –on his second day- gets the hottest girl in school," he whispered huskily into Brooke's ear.

As much as Brooke would hate to admit it, she found that pretty hot.

Brooke was about to put some distance between them when she saw Lucas give Peyton a quick hug and start to walk in their direction.

Brooke turned him a little, so Max was against the locker, and she was leaning into his arms.

"Well, I don't know, do you think you can handle being the boyfriend of Brooke Davis," she asked flirtatiously.

From the side of her eye, she saw Lucas notice them, and even though she couldn't see him properly, she could tell he was frowning.

Max smiled smugly, "Try me Davis,"

Brooke smirked, leaning in closer.

"Max,"

Brooke and Max turned to see Lucas nearing them.

Max let go of Brooke, "Hey, whatsup?"

"Just wanted to remind you that we have practice after school today, and some of us guys were going to meet up before the bell today to get some practice, so lets go," Lucas stated through gritted teeth.

Brooke smirked, knowing full well that he was containing himself from bursting out in anger. He wanted to be with Peyton, fine, but just because he also cared about her, that didn't mean she was just going to mourn for him all her life. He chose Peyton, and now she chose to move on.

Max looked a little disappointed, but nodded, "Yeah okay, you go ahead, and I'll catch up," he answered, glancing at Brooke quickly.

Lucas tightened his jaw in anger, knowing that Max was trying to signal the, _'let me get some from her first,' _

"The bells going to ring soon, we don't have time, let's go," Lucas snapped.

Max looked a little hesitant, until Brooke snaked her arms around his waist and brought his head down to her, pressing her lips against his passionately. But before he could respond, she pulled away, much to Max's attempt to capture her mouth again, and gave him a sexy wink, "Go with this grouch now, and I'll see you later … I promise,"

With that, she turned away from him, ignoring the shocked Lucas, and walked away swaying her hips the way she knew drove guys crazy.

Max watched her go lustfully, "Shit man, she's fucking hot!"

Lucas glared at him, watching Brooke go.

**A/n Sorry for the long delay, especially to those people who had read the whole first chapter in the other story. For you guys, it was an even longer update. I'm so sorry. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and please please **_**please **_**read and review! lol, thanks for the review ahead of time! **


	3. Chapter 3

"Pass it to Max!"

Lucas glanced at Whitey in annoyance as he dribbled the ball down the court. Whitey was standing on the side and yelling the same thing for the third time now. Lucas ignored Max, who was open and motioning Lucas to pass.

In all the confusion, Lucas lost his dribble and the ball was taken by the opposite team.

_Oh shit, _Lucas turned to watch the guy dribble the ball to Lucas's side, and take a shot.

"Oh god! Everyone come in," Whitey yelled.

Lucas sighed, jogging toward Whitey, and the team made a circle around their coach.

"What the hell was that Lucas?!" Whitey demanded frustrated, "How many times do I have to yell out to you, for you to actually listen? This was just a game where I divided you guys up to face each other, what if it was a real game? You ignored an open teammate –_as well as the coach_- and then lost the ball. And it's not even fully about losing the ball; it's about you hogging it when Max had a better opportunity to take it further, not to mention he was _open!_"

Lucas shrugged, "Sorry coach,"

Whitey raised his brow, "Is that all I get? Listen, the rest of you, great job, go to class, but you Lucas, we need to talk,"

Lucas cursed under his breath as the rest of the team left for the change rooms.

Whitey sighed, "You're a good player, and I haven't known you to be so careless. So, I know something's bothering you, just get out with it,"

Lucas shrugged, "I don't think that Max guy is too good, he probably would've sucked anyways, why do we have to have him on our team," Lucas asked lamely.

Whitey looked a little surprised, "Lucas, I _know_ you don't believe that. Max is better then a lot of the guys on this team, and we really need him right now. What's your problem with him?"

Lucas shook his head, "Nothing, I guess I was wrong, whatever,"

Whitey frowned, "What's up with you?"

"Bad day I guess," Lucas muttered, shaking it off, "It won't happen again coach, may I leave now,"

"It better not and yes you can,"

Lucas nodded, jogging to the change room.

Brooke slept through the first few classes until lunch. Now she was fully awake and ready for action. Brooke smiled knowing that Peyton didn't have this lunch, while Lucas and Max did. It was perfect.

Brooke discovered that Lucas, Max and the some other basketball players that Brooke recognized were all sitting at a lunch table.

Brooke quickly fixed up her hair and sauntered toward the table.

"Hey guys,"

Lucas, who was having a conversation with a player, quickly turned toward Brooke, recognizing her voice. He frowned when he noticed she was smiling at Max.

"Mind if I join?" she asked, getting comfortable in the lap of a pleasantly surprised Max.

Max put his arms around her waist smiling, "Don't mind at all," he mumbled, lightly pecking the nape of Brooke's neck.

Brooke giggled, pushing Max away, glancing at the angered Lucas.

The guy sitting beside Max, patted him on the back proudly, "Dude, you _scored_!"

Brooke smirked, running her finger up and down Max's chest flirtatiously. Lucas gripped the bottle of coke in his hand so hard that Brooke was sure it would break.

Brooke was a little surprised at the extent of jealousy Lucas felt over her affections for Max, but she liked it. _It was about time he got hurt back for all the hurt he causes. _

"Hey you know what? Lets take this outside, were we can be alone," she whispered, loud enough for Lucas to hear across the table.

Max smiled, "Yeah, let's go," he replied enthusiastically.

When they were out the door, they heard Max's phone ring. Max flipped open the phone in annoyance. "Brooke, it's kind of important, I'll be back real quick," he explained, his hand covering the mouth piece as he walked back into the school.

Brooke watched Max leave in confusion, but before she could say anything, she felt her herself being pulled from behind.

"What the-…" Brooke screamed, before a hand covered her mouth. Brooke was spun around to face an angry Lucas.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lucas hissed.

"I should ask you the same thing you psychopath," Brooke snapped, slapping his hand away from her mouth.

"Listen Brooke, I know you're mad at me, but I see what you're doing, and please don't get involved with Max just to get at me. I really have a bad feeling about the guy, and I don't want you be with someone like him,"

"So I should be with someone like you? Should I be with someone that will want my best friend?"

Lucas looked away in frustration, "Brooke, that's not how it was, and that's not what this is about. I really care about you, and I don't want you to get hurt. I know it sounds like a horrible thing to say, but I know his type, and he only wants to get in your pants."

Brooke glared at him, "You know what fine, why should it matter to you? Maybe I only want to get into his pants as well! How any of this really affects you is beyond me. I'm Brooke Davis, popularly known to be a slut, so let me be who I am, and you should just stay out of my life, and be more concerned with your girlfriends life, alright?" Brooke yelled harshly into his face.

Lucas rolled his eyes, "You're so hurt by Peyton and me that you would really go out with someone to get back at me,"

"Get over yourself asshole, not everything revolves around you. Did you ever think that maybe I might actually be _interested_ in him?" Brooke spat.

"No, actually I didn't," Lucas responded evenly.

"Oh c'mon look at him!" Brooke stated smugly, "He's beyond hot. I mean those cute little dimples just drive me mad!" Brooke could tell she was really getting to Lucas, "And don't even get me started on his kisses. God! I don't think I've _ever_ been kissed like that! I should really tell Peyton this; you know how she craves all my leftovers."

"Brooke-…" Lucas warned through gritted teeth.

"Actually never mind, I won't be able to give such a hot guy away. Oh, I didn't even tell you about his _body!_ _Damn, _I can't wait to get that hunk into my bed-…"

"Shut the fuck up Brooke!" Lucas interrupted angrily.

Brooke looked over at him in mock surprise, "What's wrong-…"

"You know what? I don't know why I bother, if you want to be with that trash then go right ahead." Lucas snapped, "I'm happy with my girlfriend and I don't know why I wasted my time trying to help you out."

Lucas turned away, taking a deep breath to calm himself down, and then turned back to her, his voice softening, "Brooke, please, think about what you're doing. There's something about him that seems off, I don't want you to rush into things, please just listen to me,"

"Lucas, just stay out of my life, okay?" Brooke whispered, looking away from his pleading face.

Every time she looked at him, all the hurt would flood back into her, she didn't want to take this anymore.

"Brooke-…"

"Hey Lucas,"

Brooke turned to see Max walking up; she quickly plastered a smile on her face and brought her arm around his waist.

"Sorry about that babe," he apologized, "So, what's going on here?"

"Nah, its okay, and uhm Lucas here was just telling me how good you are at basketball,"

"Oh? Is that why he hogs the ball, afraid of a little competition?" Max asked playfully.

"Oh really?" Brooke asked with a raised brow.

Lucas frowned, "Yeah whatever, I'm going to get going," Lucas mumbled, brushing past them.

"What's up his ass all the time?" Max asked, looking down at Brooke.

Brooke shrugged, "Who cares,"

Max grinned, bringing his lips down to Brooke again.

After school, Lucas waited by Peyton's locker as she handed him her books.

"Peyton, why do you always take all the books home? Leave some here!" Lucas whined, as she stacked the books in his hands.

Peyton smiled, "I need them all Lucas, and besides I always reward you for carrying them don't I?" she asked slyly.

A grin formed on his lips, "Well in that case, keep stacking!"

Peyton smiled, struggling to pull out her jacket from the jam-packed locker.

Lucas spotted Brooke walking down the hall with a few other friends, and automatically, without thinking, he dropped Peyton's books and pulled Peyton into his arms.

"Lucas-…" she protested in confusion, before Lucas covered her mouth hungrily with his. Peyton smiled into his mouth, giving into his kiss, putting her arms around his neck.

Brooke noticed the semi make out right away, and felt a tiny pang at her heart. Lucas's hands were pulling at Peyton, squashing her body against his passionately.

Brooke looked away, trying to conceal the hurt. As much as she hated Lucas, she couldn't help but hurt when she sees him with Peyton.

When Brooke had quickly turned a corner, Lucas finally let the breathless Peyton go. Peyton gave him a lopsided grin, "I know you missed me at lunch today, but wow."

Lucas smiled sadly, ashamed at his actions. He had sunk as low as Brooke's actions recently. He didn't have to prove his love for Peyton. Nor did he have to throw it in Brooke's face. He had chosen to be with Peyton, but he hadn't meant to hurt Brooke with his relationship. Now, he had proven to be the guy Brooke claimed him to be.

Lucas felt disgusted with himself.

Peyton gathered up her books and gave them back to Lucas, "But next time, let's be gentle with the books," she teased.

Lucas smiled, holding the books in one hand and using his chest to balance them, freeing the other arm to wrap around Peyton's waist.

**A/n A BIGGGG TWISTT coming up ! R&R !!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Stupid bastard!" Brooke mumbled for the hundredth time that afternoon.

Rachel rolled her eyes dramatically, "Seriously Brooke, you _have _to get over him, you're going to drive me crazy. Stop hurting over him, and stop being angry with him!" she commanded exasperated, "Just forget him, I mean it's not that hard anymore, now that you have the super cute new-guy with you. I mean seriously, why do you always get them first?!"

Brooke rolled her eyes, lying back on her bed with a sigh.

"But honestly Brooke, that new guy is mad hot and news in the bathroom is that he's quite a popular topic with the ladies." Rachel informed slyly.

"Why do we have to talk about him right now?"

"Brooke! Do not tell me that you're really not interested, mad adorable face with the body of a friggin god!"

Brooke sat up, "He's pretty cute isn't he, and his body is definitely hot, then why the hell does that stupid Lucas still get to me. I've moved on!"

"Dude, problem is that you _haven't _moved on," Rachel stated, rummaging through a stack of eye makeup.

Brooke sighed, "Well, I certainly am starting to. Like did I tell you about what happened after school?"

"Only about a gazillion times," Rachel stated simply.

Brooke stuck out her tongue, "Well, I can't believe he would do that. Like there he was …"

"…Pretending to still care for you and all, and then making out with your ex best friend an hour later," Rachel finished dryly, "I know Brooke, give it up, he's a bastard, forget him. The Brooke Davis that I use to know didn't dwell on past guys; she was too busy making out with the new ones. Seriously, when did you become such a sob story?" Rachel asked with a raised brow.

Brooke gasped, "I have _not_!"

Rachel nodded her head, "Yeah, you have!"

Brooke shook her head desperately, "I haven't changed!"

Rachel put aside the makeup in her hand, leaning forward, "Lucas got to you. He dated you, and then went for your best friend. You got burnt nicely, and still haven't recovered. Imagine the satisfaction he feels knowing that he changed you. From all the guys you've dated, this one left his mark, you weren't able to get over him and become the old Brooke that was liked by all, and not such a bore to be around," Rachel felt a surge of energy wash thorough her, she could tell by the expression on Brooke's face that she was getting to her. This was the only way to snap her back.

Brooke stood up in disgust, "No, you're wrong Rachel. I have _not _changed. I'll have you know, me and Max have been spending a lot of time together," Brooke stated defiantly.

"Have you slept with him yet?" Rachel challenged.

Brooke tried to hold Rachel's gaze, but eventually heaved out a huge breath of defeat, sitting back down.

"But its okay, Rachel's here. I heard about a jam going down at Jason's, you down?"

"The basketball player?" Brooke whispered, looking hesitant before Rachel cut in.

"Lucas and Peyton are sure to be there. You take Max, and you can show Lucas that he wasn't able to change you, and you're back to the Brooke Davis everyone knew a few months ago!" Rachel insisted, rummaging through their clothes.

Brooke nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah that would be perfect!" Brooke exclaimed, "And I can wear the black silk top that Lucas drooled over!" She stated excitedly, her eyes shining with an evil gleam.

"Now you're talking!"

An hour later, Brooke and Rachel were walking up Nathan's porch steps.

"Where's Max?"

Brooke looked down at her watch, "He said he'd be coming down soon,"

Rachel nodded, sighting a guy from the basketball team, "Well, I'm going to get me some of that, while you hang here, alright?"

Before Brooke could reply, Rachel was already making her way through the jam packed living room. Brooke rolled her eyes, and made her way toward Haley and Nathan.

Haley smiled, bringing Brooke into a comforting hug, "Oh my god. I thought you wouldn't come! I can't believe I made Nathan bring me along here. The loud music is killing my ears, and seeing drunken people make me wanna puke!" Haley whined, "I'm going to make him take me home now! Unless, I mean Lucas is going to be here, and I know that might be weird-…"

"Haley! I'm totally over that! So wipe that sympathy off your face, and go home and rest. I've moved on and I'm ready for some new action," she whispered winking.

Haley looked a little surprised, but laughed. "Well, I see your new boy toy over there," Haley said, motioning behind her.

Brooke turned around to see Max entering the house. She couldn't help but feel a smile creep onto her face. But it quickly disappeared when she head familiar voices to her left. Brooke turned to see Peyton sitting on Lucas's laps, giggling at something someone in front of them were saying.

Brooke took a deep breath. _They didn't matter anymore. They couldn't bring her down anymore, she didn't care for them._

Her smile was back on her face, when she saw Max's face light up upon finding her. Max made his way toward her, ignoring the seductive smiles he received from the other females.

Brooke smiled smugly, wrapping her arms around Max's neck when he reached her. She glanced at the disappointed faces with a smirk that read, _he's mine! _

"Davis, you look _fine!_" he whispered huskily into her left ear, sending a shiver down her spine.

Brooke smiled, "Not so bad yourself mister," she mumbled, placing a flirty kiss on his lips. But of course, she pulled away before he could really get into it, knowing that would leave him pleading for more.

She could see it in his eyes. He wanted her, and she wanted that. She turned, leading him toward the love seat.

She could feel Lucas's eyes on her. She glanced at him, and regretted it immediately when their eyes locked.

Lucas's eyes expressed hurt, causing Brooke to smile broader.

_He _was hurt? _After all the shit he put her through, he had the nerve to look hurt when she moved on? _

Brooke felt anger toward Lucas build up inside her again. But she forced that away, _it wasn't about Lucas anymore, she was going back to the old her, the one that didn't have these emotional attachments to any guy. _

She looked at Peyton, who held confusion on her face.

Brooke gave her the most disgusted face she could muster, s_tupid bitch, acting like she's all innocent._

She would give them all a show. She turned to Max, pushing him down on the couch. She climbed on, straddling him.

She grabbed a cup of liquor from one of the side tables, gulping it down in a matter of seconds. She could feel people stop to turn towards them. She gave them a glare, causing them to go back to their dancing.

Brooke brought her lips to Max's noisily. She let Max deepen the kiss, as her hands played with his hair. She moaned loudly into his mouth, and pulled away. She smiled at him starting to climb off. Max's hands gripped her waist firmly, keeping her in place. "You're so hot, Davis," he whispered, trying to pull her into another kiss.

But Brooke pulled away, "The party just started, let's dance," she mumbled, pulling him up after her, "Let me get us some more drinks,"

Brooke strutted toward the other room, where most of the drinks were. When she reached the table she poured two shots of vodka for her and Max.

Brooke looked around at the drunken people around her, and shrugged, _this is me. _Brooke downed a few shots with them.

She looked up at Rachel, who was leaning drunkenly over an equally drunk guy. When she caught her eye, Brooke smiled, raising her shots in the air.

Rachel winked, before turning back to the guy.

Brooke shook her head laughing. She turned around to go back when she felt herself bump into a hard chest. Brooke yelled out, which was pointless over the loud music, and was about to fall back when a hand reached out and stabled her.

Brooke looked up. Lucas looked down worriedly at her.

"Whaddya want?" Brooke asked annoyed, feeling a little queasy.

"I think you've had more then enough, stop acting like this. Just go home," Lucas reasoned, trying to take the drinks away from her.

Brooke pulled away from him, "How much I drink or how I _act_ like, does not affect you, Mr. Scott,"

Lucas rolled his eyes, "Your drunk, go home,"

"You're a bastard, kill yourself," Brooke threw back, brushing past him.

Lucas turned around and grabbed her arm roughly, causing her to lose her grip on the drinks and send them crashing to the ground.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Brooke asked angrily.

Lucas glared back at her, "I know what you're going to do. You're going to go back out there and make a scene. I saw what you were doing before, and honestly Brooke, stop before it goes too far."

Brooke stumbled a little, using the table to balance herself, "None of this concerns you,"

"People are going to talk about you Brooke and I don't want you to be talked about negatively," Lucas explained calmly.

"You don't matter to me anymore Lucas, so stop trying to push your way into my life. I'm Brooke Davis, and I don't need you to tell me what I should or shouldn't do. Leave me alone, and go back to Peyton," Brooke stated, grabbing two more shots, and pushing past him.

Lucas sighed, following her.

Lucas watched as Brooke drunkenly pushed past the dancing couples and made her way back to Max. She passed him his drink, and pulled him up to dance.

Lucas couldn't help but glare as he watched the couple dance closely, _too _close. Lucas knew that Brooke wasn't in her senses, and Max would take advantage of that.

Just as he thought, he saw Max start to nibble on her neck as his hands slowly started to drop dangerously low on the small of her back.

Peyton watched Lucas worriedly. She could see his anger slowly start to rise as he watched Brooke grinding against Max on the dance floor. But it shouldn't anger Lucas _this _much. When she caught his eye, Peyton shook her head violently, _don't do anything!_

She glanced at Brooke, who looked pretty out of it. Max's hands were so low on her back now that Peyton gulped, watching Lucas from the side of her eye. But when Max pulled Brooke tightly against him and covered her mouth with his hungrily, Peyton knew she wouldn't be able to stop Lucas.

Peyton cringed when she saw Lucas push his way over to them.

Lucas didn't know what he was going to do, but he wouldn't let Max touch her like that. Lucas clenched his jaw, his fist aching to connect with Max's face. He pushed his way toward them, ignoring the look of horror on Peyton's face.

He was so angry that he could hardily see clearly as he pushed Max off of Brooke.

"What the hell are you doing, man?" Max asked irritably, steadying himself.

"What the hell am _I _doing, what the hell are _you_ doing? Brooke is fucking drunk; who the hell do you think you are, taking advantage of her?" Lucas questioned angrily.

Max laughed, "Taking advantage of her? Brooke is the one who wanted to dance, and by the way, who the hell are you to bud into our business? Brooke's _my _girlfriend; we can do whatever we want. You're not her boyfriend anymore; get that through your head. What did you think, that when you started dating her best friend, that she would still wait and pine over you?"

"Fuck you Max; you don't know shit about what you're saying." Lucas muttered through gritted teeth.

Brooke felt her head go heavy, and stumbled back to the couch. All she could hear was yelling, and it hurt her head like hell.

Max shoved Lucas back, "Don't you see what your doing? She doesn't want you around, get that through your thick head, and stop acting like you own her-…"

Before Max could finish, he felt a fist connect with his jaw and he was on the ground. He looked up to see a fuming Lucas standing over him.

"You fucking bastard," Max yelled, standing up to tackle Lucas.

Peyton screamed, rushing toward the pair throwing punches at each other on the ground.

"Stop it!" Peyton ordered panicking, "Oh my god, Lucas!"

Peyton tried prying Lucas away from him, but he was too strong, and pulled away from her.

She looked around at the room full of drunken people. She spotted Nathan entering the house, and rushed over to him.

"Nathan! Oh my god, help me separate these two,"

"What the hell is going on?" Nathan asked confused as she pulled him toward Lucas and Max, who were both bruised up pretty bad now.

"Shit! Help me pull them apart!" Nathan ordered hurriedly, to some of the more sober people in the room.

Nathan and few other guys pulled them away rougly.

"What the hell do you guys think you're doing?" Nathan yelled, as he gripped the arm of a struggling Lucas.

"Get off me Nathan, this bastard thinks he can take advantage of Brooke,"

"Fuck you Lucas, you're just fucking obsessed with her, she's my girlfriend and you don't own her you fucking loser," Max yelled.

Nathan winced at the loud cursing, and scanned the room to find the reason behind it all. He gasped when he saw Brooke lying on the couch … passed out.

**A/n R&R**

**Like i said last time, something _big _is on the way !  
**

**  
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	5. Chapter 5

Nathan gasped. Lucas turned to the direction Nathan was looking at, and saw Brooke. Lucas frowned.

"You put something in her drink didn't you!" he accused Max furiously.

Max looked away from him disgusted, "Seriously, I don't know where you get this shit from. Who the hell do you think I am? She just had a lot to drink that's all."

Nathan let go of Lucas, and went over to Brooke. He kneeled down beside her, "Brooke," he whispered gently.

Brooke didn't respond.

Lucas walked over to them. "Let me take Brooke home," Lucas stated seriously.

"Are you crazy?" Max replied walking up behind him, "You think I'm going to let _you_ take my girlfriend home! Who knows what the hell you'll do to her, I'll take care of her,"

"You hardly even know her, who knows what kind of a perverted creep you are,"

"Shut the fuck up,"

"You-…"

"Both of you shut the hell up!" Nathan yelled frustrated, as he bent down, hooking a hand under her knees, and another behind her back, lifting her up, "I'm going to take her home and me and Haley will be with her."

Jason stumbled over to them. "Why take her home. This is a party dude, we have a lot of passed out people here, and they'll wake up eventually and go home. She has passed out many times at parties, why make such a fuss,"

"I'm not leaving her here with these two fighting over her like animals," Nathan answered, stepping past him.

Lucas and Max followed, "I'll come too," Lucas offered quickly.

Max glared at him, "Why don't you stay here with your girlfriend, I mean, you remember her don't you?"

Lucas glared, "Of course I remember Peyton," Lucas snapped, somewhat guiltily.

"Ok then you can stay with her. Who knows what she thinks about you now." Max stated.

"What about you?"

"Brooke passed out drunk. That's nothing serious, so I'm not going to make a big deal about it. I wouldn't mind taking her home and taking care of her, but if Nathan's taking her, then I'm cool with that," Max affirmed surely.

Nathan nodded, gently lying Brooke down in the back seat of his car. "Well, I'll tell her to call you when she's awake," he said to Max.

Lucas looked back at the house, and then at Brooke feeling torn.

"Um, are you sure you don't want me to come?"

Nathan ignored him, as he walked around the car to the front.

Lucas nodded, "Ok, then I'm going back in, um, ok." He stuttered hesitantly.

Lucas walked back into house, and found Peyton sitting on the couch sulking.

"Hey,"

Peyton looked up at him. Lucas felt horrible seeing the hurt on her face.

"Don't be upset Peyton, Brooke's our friend, I couldn't let Max do that to her." Lucas explained quickly.

Peyton shook her head, "Honestly Lucas, if that was the real reason, I wouldn't have had a problem with it, but we both know it's more then that. I could tell you were jealous."

Lucas shook his head, "I wasn't," he stated stubbornly.

Peyton looked away, "Aren't you over her?"

Lucas nodded his head, taking a seat beside Peyton, "I am over her."

Peyton didn't respond. Lucas sighed, putting his arms around her affectionately, placing gentle kisses on her neck, "I love you," Lucas whispered huskily into her ear.

Peyton couldn't help but smile slightly, and lean into his kisses. "I love you too," she whispered.

Lucas smiled, getting up and pulling Peyton up after him.

Peyton looked at him surprised, "Where we going?" she asked, as he pulled her past the dancing couples and towards his car outside.

"My room," he replied slyly.

Nathan brought her into the house, and put her down on the couch. Haley, who was washing the pots, dried her hands and came into the living room.

"What happened to her?" she asked worried.

"She's alright, passed out drunk at the party,"

"Are you serious?"

"Gets better, Lucas and Max got into a punching match!" Nathan said with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh my god, you're joking! They couldn't-…" But Haley could see that Nathan's face was dead serious, "Oh god. Are they okay? How's Lucas?"

"A little bruised, but they're fine," Nathan explained dryly, "But seriously, I just don't get Lucas, he starts going out with Peyton, and then gets mad when Brooke starts to move on as well."

Haley frowned, "Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I was wrong to think Lucas and Peyton belonged together," Haley muttered.

Nathan didn't respond, "I'm going to go take a shower. You rest for a bit okay?"

Haley nodded, as she watched him walked past her.

A little past midnight, they heard Brooke finally stir.

"Mmm,"

Haley rushed over to her, as Brooke sat up slowly.

"Oww," Brooke moaned, clutching her head.

Haley rolled her eyes, "Maybe this will teach you to not drink so much,"

Brooke shook her head, "Nah, I doubt that. What happened? Why am I here?"

"I brought you here,"

Brooke looked past Haley to Nathan, who was watching her in disappointment.

"Oh? Did I pass out drunk or something?" Brooke asked, giggling slightly.

"Not only did you pass out drunk, you caused a fight between Lucas and Max, and it got pretty ugly,"

Brooke gasped, "Is Lucas…" Brooke trailed off, noticing what she said.

In turn, she got a raised eyebrow from both Nathan and Haley.

"I meant Max," Brooke clarified, "I'm just use to his name that's all. Is _Max_ okay?

Nathan rolled his eyes, "Yes, Max and _Lucas_ are both fine."

Brooke moaned at the searing pain in her head, "Bring me something to take away the pain, Hales."

Haley looked at her pitifully, bringing her some Advil; she opened the cap, and took out one tablet.

"Only one?" Brooke asked pouting.

Haley sighed loudly as an amused Nathan watched. Haley took out another tablet and handed it to Brooke, "But I don't want you eating both at the-…"

Before Haley could finish, Brooke threw them in her mouth and swallowed it down with water, smiling innocently at her.

Haley shook her head in disapproval, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face.

Brooke looked back up at Nathan, "Why did they fight?"

"Oh c'mon Brooke, why do _you_ think they fought?" he asked exasperated.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "I know I'm involved somehow, but obviously I don't know the whole story, that's why I'm asking genius,"

Nathan shrugged, "I don't exactly know the whole story either, but they were shouting some stuff at each other along the lines of Max trying to take advantage of you, or Lucas being obsessed with you still, some shit like that,"

Brooke nodded slowly, still confused, "Lucas is so messed up. He gets jealous over someone being with their own boyfriend, such a jerk. He thinks that-…" Brooke trailed off when she noticed Haley and Nathan watching her.

"I should call Max,"

"Yeah, I told him you would call when you were awake,"

"You could rest some more," Haley piped in.

"Nah, I'll leave the married couple alone, and I shall go to my boyfriend," she announced, winking at Haley.

With that, Brooke grabbed her cell from the counter, waved dramatically at Nathan and Haley as she left the house.

She dialed Max's number.

"Hello,"

"Hey Max, it's me,"

"Brooke?"

"Expecting someone else," she teased.

Max laughed, "I see your awake now, sleeping beauty,"

"Ha Ha, you're a funny guy Max," Brooke laughed sarcastically.

"You found that out now Davis? Anyways, where you at now, I missed your ass the second it left."

"Yeah. Is that all you missed?"

"Well the rest of you isn't that bad either, I mean, endurable."

"Ha ha, aren't you just the comedian today?"

Max snickered, "Seriously babe, where you at, I'm so down to meet you right now,"

Brooke giggled flirtatiously, "Well… I _guess_ I'll let you meet me. I'm on my way home as we speak, so you can drive by and take a good look,"

Max laughed, "Alright babe, see you in a bit,"

Brooke grinned, as she closed her phone and threw it in her purse. Max was slowly growing on her. He was really helping her move on from Lucas. If anyone could get her over Lucas, it seemed like it would be Max for sure. Plus, it didn't hurt that he was _really _cute, with a body to drool over.

As Brooke got to her porch, she heard a car pull into the driveway, and smiled when she realized it was Max. Max ran up the porch and grabbed Brooke lovingly, pulling her into a deep kiss.

Brooke leaned into the kiss, as she attempted to unlock the front door as well. She managed it, and they both stumbled into the house. Brooke finally pulled out of the kiss, and smiled at him.

"I really want you Brooke," Max whispered urgently.

Brooke frowned, "You're drunk?"

"No I'm not,"

Brooke rolled her eyes, "I can smell it in your breath,"

"C'mon babe, I'm not drunk," he stated. When she was on the phone with him, his voice didn't indicate anything about how much his mouth reeked of alcohol. No slurred speech or anything.

"You drove here drunk?"

Max rolled his eyes, "Forget that, now come here Davis," he whispered pulling her against him.

Brooke pulled away again, "Max-…"

"Brooke, I want you so bad right now," he whispered again, his mouth hungrily attaching on to her neck.

As nice as it felt, Brooke couldn't do this. She had to change. She didn't want her first time with Max to be while he was drunk and she having a hangover, which included a minor headache, "Max, not now. Plus, you're drunk; just get some rest-…"

"I've heard things, and I know for a fact that me being drunk isn't really a big issue with you."

Brooke frowned, "Excuse me? What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Exactly what I said. Why the hell are you acting like a fucking prune with me? You've given it to other guys, then why you hesitating now?" Max asked pulling Brooke into a kiss again as his hands roamed wildly.

"Mmmphh!" Brooke yelled, but it was muffled by his mouth.

_Was Lucas right? Is that all he wanted from me?_

Brooke could feel tears start to well up, as she pushed him away roughly, "You fucking bastard!" she screamed, as she slapped him across the face as hard as she could, "How _dare_ you, who the fuck do you think you are?" Brooke yelled, as she continued to push him away.

Max was silent for a few moments, his hand on his stinging cheek in confusion.

Brooke couldn't ever bear to look at him anymore. She thought he had cared for her, that he had wanted to be with her emotionally as well as physically. But all he wanted was to get into her pants, just as Lucas had predicted.

"Just get out." Brooke whispered bitterly, "Get out before I have to force you out,"

"Oh c'mon Brooke, forget this shit already," he mumbled, pulling at her arm again.

Brooke screamed out in frustration as she pushed Max away, causing him to stumble into the living room table, and go crashing to the ground.

Brooke gasped, and watched horrified as Max got up, glaring at her maniacally.

"You fucking bitch," he yelled angrily.

And that's when Brooke knew, she made a _big_ mistake…

**A/n I BET YOU NEVER SAW IT COMING ! AHHHH !! R&R QUICK ! **


	6. Chapter 6

Brooke slowly started to back away, but gasped when she felt her back hit the wall.

"Max, I'm sorry-…" Brooke started, before he took two huge strides towards her and before Brooke could see it coming she felt horrible pain in her left cheek. It stung so bad, that tears involuntarily sprung to her eyes.

"You fucking whore, who the fuck do you think you are!" Max yelled, his eyes blazing red.

Brooke felt herself tremble, as her hand went up to her cheek, "Max, please just leave," she begged.

He grabbed her arms, pulling her against his hard chest roughly, "You think I'm going to leave without getting my times worth," he whispered, as he forcefully covered her mouth.

"Mmmphh!" Brooke struggled in his arms, and after a few agonizing seconds was finally able to push him away, "What the hell are you doing Max!"

But her voice didn't have the anger and confidence it did earlier, now it was filled with fear.

He smirked at her, "What a bitch. I've heard all about you Brooke Davis, the slut of Tree Hill, her mouth and legs open 24/7. Go to Brooke Davis's place when you feel horny, that's what everyone has to say about your spoiled ass. So I go for you, and of course being Brooke Davis, you start flirting with me the second I notice you. You came around in itsy-bitsy clothes, got me turned on with words and actions, and even played hard to get to keep me interested. When it finally comes time to give it up, you act all prune and start bullshitting about how I'm drunk? Half the people you slept with were while you or they were drunk and now you're pretending to care about that? Well I'm so sorry Davis, it aint gonna work today, today you're going to give me what I want," Max stated surely, an uncaring glint in his eyes.

Brooke shook her head, "You bastard, you want to know why I cared, it was because I thought what we had, could really be something special. I thought I really cared for you, and you cared for me too. I didn't want you to be just another fuck. But little did I know, you were just a fucking loser that wanted to get into my pants. If you were really that desperate, why didn't you just go to your mom you asshole," Brooke spat at him disgustedly, "Now get the fuck out of my house before I call the police," she ordered, going for the phone.

"Oh hell no," Max snickered, as he grabbed the phone out of her hand and threw it hard against the ground. He pulled out the cable with a mock pout.

Brooke gasped, quickly making for the door. Just as she turned the knob, Max grabbed her from behind, his hand against the door, keeping it shut.

"HELP!"

Max clicked his tongue, as he slapped his hand over her mouth, "You're just a feisty little one aren't you?" he teased, locking the door.

Brooke struggled desperately, kicking and hitting wherever she could. Max dragged her back to the living room, "Now we're really going to have to do something about that big mouth of yours," he instructed.

He dragged the struggling Brooke into the kitchen, opening a few drawers until he found a roll of duct tape, "This will have to do," he winked, as he pushed her over onto the counter and put a few layered pieces of tape over her mouth tightly, and then he tried forcing her arms behind her back.

When Brooke stubbornly kept her hands joined together in her front, Max powerfully pulled them apart, causing searing pain to go up her arms, she screamed out in pain, which was muffled with the tape.

Brooke could feel tears start to drip out of her eyes in anger and fear. Brooke hated herself for crying, she didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

He turned her around and smiled, "Are you crying now? C'mon babe, you know I didn't want to do this. If you had just cooperated, things would've been different. It's your fault you know?" he whispered in her ear, as she continued struggling in her tapes, "If you hadn't been so damn hot and irresistible, I wouldn't be here, now would I? Plus, you did give the impression that you wanted it, how much could a guy really take? Your flirting and teasing would've driven me insane!" Max explained, a smirk playing on his lips.

_God this couldn't be happening. Please don't let this happen, I swear I'll never do anything wrong again, just please save me. Someone save me! _

Max leaned down, his arm hooking beneath her knees, and the other supporting her back as he lifted her up off the ground.

He kissed her neck lovingly, before talking her back into the living room. Brooke flailed her legs helplessly, trying anything to get away from him.

_Nathan, Haley, Rachel, someone please save me! Why isn't Rachel home! Please someone come… Lucas, please save me. You were right, you were right about everything. God why was I so obsessed with causing Lucas pain that I went out with Max to get back at him. Lucas please save me, you promised you'd always be there for me, please save me!_

"I feel a little bad you know. I mean, seeing you so helpless, and you won't stop crying, just stop making me feel like a monster! It's not my fault I want you so bad," he whispered, feigning innocence.

Brooke trembled violently as she whimpered pleadingly through the tape.

"Sorry, I can't hear you, you're going to have to talk louder?" he teased, as he placed her down on her couch.

When Max leaned down to her, Brooke tried kicking him away. His smirk turned into a glare, as he held her legs, and sat on her.

Brooke groaned in pain.

"This would've been so much easier if you weren't such a little bitch. If you would've just been more cooperative, you wouldn't be all tied up, and would've really enjoyed this. But knowing you, this is probably your fantasy, being all tied up while I do whatever I want to you." he whispered deeply into her ears.

Brooke shook her head, trying to pull away from him.

_No, this can't be happening. He can't do this. Max wouldn't do this to me, I couldn't have been so wrong about someone. It must all just be a joke; soon he would let her free, and laugh about it. He couldn't really do this. She couldn't be getting raped!_

He leaned down to her, kissing her neck again. When she tried to move, he sighed in annoyance, as he punched her in the eye, making her vision go blurry, and a scream escape her lips. Tears were now flowing down her face. She had never felt so much pain.

Brooke sobbed silently as he kissed his way down her neck, and tore off her blouse violently. Brooke whimpered when she felt his hands go down to her skirt. He pulled it off effortlessly, his hands roaming her body with viciousness of an animal.

Brooke closed her eyes shut.

_Lucas! _She pleaded desperately.

But… no one came.

**A/n Wow. That was so horrible to write. My heart goes out to Brooke. :( Please r&r . **


	7. Chapter 7

Rachel moaned when she felt drops of water being thrown at her face. Her eyes flickered open to find Jason standing over her smirking.

"What the-…" It took her awhile to realize she was still at his house from last night. She groaned, her neck searing in pain. Her neck had been bent in an awkward position on the couch, where she had passed out the night before.

"Time to go home," Jason teased, as he moved on to the next victim.

Rachel stumbled up to her feet, scanning the passed out drunk people to see if Brooke was still there.

When she didn't spot her, she rolled her eyes, _of course Ms. Davis has three gorgeous hunks watching after her at all times, no one would leave her passed out at someone's party. _Rachel thought, remembering last nights events, s_he passes out; Max Lucas and Nathan fight over who takes care of her. No one notices me. _

Rachel staggers over a few people and clumsily makes her way out of the house. She rubs her throbbing head as she gets in her car. Rachel rests her head on the steering wheel, until the horn snaps her back up.

She drives home annoyed; _Jason could've at least offered me some coffee or something. _

She parked in the driveway, looking up at the house. She glanced down at her watch, it was already noon and Brooke's car was still in the driveway_. Brooke always went out with Haley for breakfast on the weekend, so why was she still home?_

Rachel unlocked her door, stepping into the house, "Brooke, you're late you know that right?" Rachel yelled up the stairs, "I know last nights party got out of hand but pregnant tutor girl is probably waiting for you," she joked.

Rachel frowned when she didn't get a respond, "Ok, I know you passed out early yesterday, and I also heard about the fight that went down between the guys, which by the way we still have to talk about, but you should really get up now,"

Rachel heard a faint moan.

"Brooke?" Rachel called out worried; she followed the noise to the living room.

"Brooke where are you? Brooke-…" Rachel gasped when she found Brooke on the ground twisting and turning helplessly, all taped up. She had a thin blanket thrown over her, but it was evident that she was naked under it.

"Oh my god Brooke," Rachel screamed, kneeling down to take off the tape that covered her whimpering mouth.

"Something tells me this wasn't just you get kinky," she whispered, peeling off the taped that covered her hands.

Brooke scrambled into Rachel's arms, crying violently, "Rach- … oh god," she sobbed between breaths. She was heaving in and out uncontrollably, not able to breath between sobs.

Rachel hugged her tightly, "Brooke, oh god what happened?" she asked gently.

It took Brooke awhile to steady her breath and slowly her sobs died down, "M-m…"

"Max?"

Brooke bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling, as she nodded.

"He did this to you?"

Brooke nodded again, not bothering to wipe her tears.

"He was so horrible Rachel; he was so horrible to me." Brooke whimpered.

Rachel left the trembling Brooke for a bit to go open the blinds to let some light in to the dark room, when she turned back to Brooke, a gasp escaped her lips.

"He… he hit you?" she asked in horror.

Brooke's fingers hesitantly went up to her back eye, wincing as she touched it.

"Oh my god Brooke, did he _rape you?_" Rachel stated in disbelief, as she ran into the kitchen and grabbed a wet cloth.

Brooke was now leaning against the wall, the blanket wrapped around her tightly and her eyes dry.

Rachel kneeled down in front of her, wiping away the blood from the side of her lips, "I can't believe it! How could Max do that? Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I should've been here, I shouldn't have taken you to the party, should I call someone-…"

"Rachel, don't do anything please. I'm going to go clean myself up and take a bath. Don't do anything until I come down and talk to you, okay?" she begged.

Rachel's heart went out the pitiful Brooke in front of her. She had never seen her like that; she seemed so small and vulnerable. Rachel didn't know what to do. Should she call someone else, or just wait like Brooke told her too. Finally, Brooke's watery eyes made her nod hesitantly, "I'll make you some coffee," she whispered gently.

Brooke dragged herself up the stairs, and walked into the room. The images wouldn't leave her mind. She could still feel his hands over her, his voice in her ears, and she could still see his eyes. The disgusting lust the filled his eyes, and the anger when she resisted, it haunted her to her core.

Brooke let the blanket fall around her feet, as she stepped into the shower. Her eyes watered again, remembering his harsh whispers.

"_This would've been so much easier if you weren't such a little bitch. If you would've just been more cooperative, you wouldn't be all tied up, and would've really enjoyed this. But knowing you, this is probably your fantasy, being all tied up while I do whatever I want to you."_

Brooke shut her eyes tightly, trying to stop the tears.

"_You think I'm going to leave without getting my times worth,"_

She turned on the shower, letting the water clean her body. She felt so dirty, like there was dirt all over her body. She could feel his hands and lips all over her. Brooke tilted her face up to the water, letting it hit her face straight on.

"_**Mine and Peyton's relationship isn't only about sex, that's not all I want from her, but that is all Max wants from you"**_

Brooke felt another sob escape her lips, as she rubbed at her arms, trying to take away all the dirt that she felt covered her.

"_**Please don't get involved with Max just to get at me. I really have a bad feeling about the guy, and I don't want you to be with someone like him,"**_

Brooke rubbed the tears away from her eye, lathering soap all over her body.

"_I've heard all about you Brooke Davis, the slut of Tree Hill, her mouth and legs open 24/7."_

"_**I know it sounds like a horrible thing to say, but I know his type, and he only wants to get in your pants."**_

Brooke cried out, violently trying to clean her body. She couldn't wash away the feeling of him over her. There were bruises all over her body, bruises of his hands roughly attacking her.

"_Go to Brooke Davis's place when you feel horny, that's what everyone has to say about your spoiled ass. So I go for you, and of course being Brooke Davis, you start flirting with me the second I notice you."_

"_**You're so hurt by Peyton and me that you would really go out with someone to get back at me,"**_

Brooke wrapped her arms around her bruised body, breaking down to the ground. She crouched on the ground, her tears mixing with the water. The water harshly attacked her bruised back, but the pain she felt inside was nothing compared to her physical pains.

"_**There's something about him that seems off, I don't want you to rush into things, please just listen to me,"**_

"_You came around in itsy-bitsy clothes, got me turned on with words and actions, and even played hard to get to keep me interested."_

"_**I saw what you were doing before, and honestly Brooke, stop before it goes too far."**_

"_Plus, you did give the impression that you wanted it, how much could a guy really take? Your flirting and teasing would've driven me insane!"_

"No…" Brooke cried out helplessly.

She clutched her head, trying to will away the images of Max over her. She screamed out, letting out all the screams that had been muffled. She yelled out heartily, "Don't touch me! Let go of me!" she screamed, crying into her hands.

Brooke cried out angrily. She let out all her sobs until she couldn't breathe. She cried between huge gasps, resting her head against the wall beside her.

Brooke cried into the water that poured down on her.

Nothing seemed to help. Brooke cried screamed and yelled until she had no tears left…

**A/n r&r **


	8. Chapter 8

Rachel poured the coffee into two mugs and took them to the living room. She looked around the room.

The table was pushed to the side, and the lamp was knocked off the side table. The pillows were all over the place, and a seat from the couch was on the ground.

Rachel gulped down a lump in her throat, imaging the horror of last night. She quickly fixed up everything, so Brooke wouldn't have to see it.

She heard soft steps make there way down the stairway. Rachel turned around to see Brooke in a gym hoodie and pj's. There was a dark circle around an eye, and a cut at the side of her lip.

"Brooke..." Rachel choked out, not able to complete the sentence.

Brooke smiled sadly, "No don't worry. Don't cry Rach, I'm okay, I'm going to be fine," Brooke reasurred, her face not holding even an ounce of the confidence her words were trying to portray.

Rachel brought Brooke into a hug, but pulled away quickly when she felt Brooke wince.

"Oh my god," Rachel whispered, "...Oh god, no."

"It's not that bad. I mean, you just... um you..." But Brooke couldn't finish, choking on her words.

"I'm so sorry Brooke. I'm going to make that bastard pay, I swear to god I will," Rachel promised, tearfully.

Brooke hugged herself, not able to go and sit on the couch that she had been raped on.

Rachel understood, and led Brooke to the kitchen and to their mugs.

"Here, it's nice and warm, just like you like it,"

Brooke took a seat slowly, looking at the counter. She could just _see_ Max pushing her against it as he had taped her mouth and hands. She winced and looked away.

"Brooke, I'm going to call the police," Rachel whispered.

Brooke's head snapped towards her, "No, you can't. I... I don't want you to,"

"What? Brooke? Do you know what you're saying. You can't let him get away with what he did to you, I don't care, you can't stop me. If you won't do it yourself, sure as hell I will," Rachel declared purposefully.

Brooke shook her head emotionless.

"It's not going to work. No one knows he slipt out of the party, and when he left me, he went back to the party. No one's going to believe me. And even if we do fight it, it's going to turn into a big deal, and everyone's going to find out. I can't live with that Rach. I can't take people looking at me with sympathy forever, or the other half that will think I'm making it up. I'm the slutty Brooke, they'll think either I wanted it like that, or I initiated it. Plus, at the party, when I made a scene of seducing Max. Who's going to believe me? I don't want this to turn into a big deal. I don't want people to know. If my parents find out, they're going to make me leave this place, I can't take that. I don't want this." Brooke insisted dazed.

"So what are you saying Brooke? You're going to let him get away with it?!" Rachel asked, her mouth hung open in shock, "What the hell Brooke?"

"I don't know what I want. But what I _do_ know is that I don't want people to know, I can't handle that." Brooke muttered, clutching her head.

"No. I don't care if people know, I will not let him get away with this. I won't. He's a fucking rapist. Brooke? You're stronger then this. I know you are. Tell me the real reason, cause I do not believe you,"

Brooke kept her face covered with her hands, and didn't respond. She breathed into her hand slowly.

Moments passed.

"Brooke?"

"Maybe... maybe I asked for it. Maybe I desearved it Rach," Brooke admitted shamefully into her hands.

Rachel reached over the table and pulled Brooke's hand away from her face, looking her in the eye.

"Brooke, _you did not desearve to get raped._"

"You don't understand. I've been after Max ever since I knew it pissed Lucas off. I've done so many things. I'd sit in his laps, kiss him but not let him kiss me back. I played hard to get knowing he was going insane." Brooke admitted, "I was basically asking for it wasn't I?"

"No, oh my god no. Brooke don't do that to yourself. You didn't-..."

Brooke's phone vibrated loudly in pocket. Brooke slipped it out and looked at the screen.

"Oh," Brooke muttered, as if she was recognizing the person for the first time.

"Who is it,"

Brooke turned the phone over to her.

_Tutor Gaaal._

Brooke flipped it open hesitantly. "Hello,"

"Where _are_ you Brooke." Haley accused, "I've been waiting here for about half an hour, and I was _late! _ Just cause you got a new boyfriend doesn't mean you forget your old bff." Haley said, a hint of teasing in her voice.

Brooke gulped. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry, I don't what happened to me, I forgot."

"It's okay, just don't let it happen again," Haley hissed in mock anger, before breaking out in a giggle, "Wanna get your ass here now?"

"Um. I can't. It's this thing with Rachel, I can't leave," Brooke lied, without looking up at Rachel, "Sorry,"

"Is something wrong?" Haley asking, noticing for the first time the lack of enthusiasm in her voice.

"Uh," Brooke cleared her throat, "Everythings good. Just a little headache is all,"

Brooke gulped down the knot that seemed to get bigger and bigger.

"Um okay. Take care then Brooke. Talk to you later,"

Brooke nodded, biting her bottom lip as she put the phone on the table in front of her, beside her untouched mug.

"Brooke, why didn't you tell her. It's Haley, she's one of your best friends and you need her right now,"

Brooke shook her head, "It can't leave me and you,"

When Rachel didn't respond, Brooke looked her in the eyes, "Rach? You have to swear. Swear on your grandparents," Brooke persisted, knowing how close Rachel was to them growing up.

Rachel shook her head, "I won't do it."

"Rachel please, this is one thing that I really need you to do for me. Please? Rachel..."

"Why. I don't like this Brooke. I can't stand it."

"Let me be the one who tells anyone _if _I choose. _You_ don't say anything to anyone."

Rachel tried to protest, but Brooke looked so broken in front of her. So helpless and vulnerable, as if everything depended on what her answer would be.

Rachel nodded frustrated. "I won't tell anyone, but you have to."

"Rachel swear you won't." 

"... I swear." Rachel choked.

Brooke smiled miserably, "Thank you."

"Are you going to school?"

"Not until this black eye heals enough to cover with make up," Brooke muttered.

"Do you think you can handle seeing him again?"

"I have to."

"Maybe you should tell Lucas,"

Brooke froze. _Lucas._ How would he react. He had seen this coming, he had warned her over and over again, he had begged and pleaded. How could she ever show her face in front of him again. Especially if he knew.

"No, I can't. I just can't."

Rachel looked away dejected.

Brooke bit her trembling bottom lip, wrapping her arms around herself again.

**A/n. So sorry for the long delay. My computer crashed, and I had to buy a new one. So really long delay. Also sorry for any grammer mistakes in this, cause in stead of double checking, I want to post this up as soon as I can for you guys. I know this chapter probably made a lot of people mad. But do you really think the nosey Lucas won't find out? And what will happen when Brooke goes back to school? When her and Max come face to face? When Lucas finds out? Will Rachel keep her promise? How will this change the Brooke we all know and love? **

**R&R **


	9. Chapter 9

It had been two horrible weeks since the incident. Not a day had passed that she hadn't cried herself to sleep. Not a day had passed that she hadn't woken up in cold sweat from a nightmare about that day. She would feel his violent hands on her when she'd sit on that couch.

But it had been getting better.

She didn't burst out in tears everytime Rachel mentioned anything about that day.

Many people had called, wondering why she hadn't come to school for the past two weeks. Haley had tried to get in touch with her, first by phone, and then even came over to check on her. But Brooke had asked Rachel to send her away.

She knew she couldn't handle seeing her, or anyone at that moment.

Nathan had text her, but she had ignored that too.

Worst of all, was when Lucas would call her. She would stare at the phone, wanting to pick her it up and cry to Lucas, and say sorry, and tell him everything, but she could never muster enough courage. She couldn't talk to him, she was too ashamed.

"Your coming Brooke," Rachel stated, leaning into the mirror to apply her eyeliner.

Brooke sat back on the bed, "I don't know Rach, I really don't feel like it,"

"Brooke, you promised you'd go today. You have to. You're getting so behind in school, and I know your education is important to you. I won't let you let Max win, and screw up your life. So get that ass up and into something nice, before we get late,"

Brooke sighed, knowing Rachel was right.

She couldn't keep putting this off. She had to face everyone eventually, and she could already imagine the things going around in school about her absence.

Who knows what kinds of things people were making up about her, and now she'd have to face all their bullshit.

Brooke opened her closet, looking through outfits.

She hadn't worn anything but robes and hoodies the past weeks, and today would be no different. There were still scars over her body, even though the black eye had healed. Her arms still had traces of his attacks, and she couldn't let anyone see those.

Lucas smiled as Peyton snuggled up into his arms. She was telling him about her dream last night, but Lucas couldn't hear what she was saying. His mind was somewhere else.

On someone else.

_Where is Brooke? _Lucas would hold his breath everyday with hope that she'd be in school, but for the past two weeks she had been a no show.

He had called her a few times and even emailed her, but he got no response. He had even asked Haley and Nathan about her, but they didn't know anything either.

The last time he had seen her was passed out at Jason's party, and that sucked.

Lucas glanced longingly back at her locker, which was in the same hallway as Peyton's, but she like always, she wasn't there.

He sighed, his cheek resting on Peyton's head.

"I'll walk you to class," Lucas said, when the bell rang. They walked hand in hand to her Bio class, and with a peck on the lips Lucas turned back to go to his class. He was about to turn the hallway when he caught a wiff of a familiar smell.

Lucas felt a slow smile spread across his lips, as his heart fluttered shamelessly.

Lucas looked up to Brooke's locker for the hundredth time in the past weeks and for once... she was there.

Lucas felt his heart melt.

There she was.

Brooke struggled to pull out a thick textbook without dropping her other books. Lucas smiled, he always had to hold her books when she would grab things from her locker.

Brooke was wearing a fitted gray hoodie with dark jeans. This wasn't Brooke's usual choice of clothes, but she look beautiful in even the most casual attire.

Her hair were pulled back in a ponytail, with a few strands left out to frame her face. She wore no makeup besides a faint lip gloss on her lips, making her look younger then she actually was.

Lucas was still left breathless. She looked so beautiful. It felt like it had been forever since the last time he had seen her. For the first time, he realized he had been feeling empty without her.

She was back.

Brooke Davis was back.

His Brooke was back.

Lucas smiled, and was about to walk up to her, but he suddenly froze.

There was something missing.

He could see Brooke smile at people, but it wasn't real. He could tell from her real smiles to her cover up ones like the back of his hand.

He frowned.

Something was wrong. He could tell, and he intended to find out what.

But before he could reach her, she quickly entered her first period class.

Lucas cursed under his breath, he'd get to her at lunch for sure.

Brooke sat in her math class, trying to ignore all the stares she was receiving. It was much worse then she thought.

Some girls asked her if she went into a coma and didn't wake up for the past two weeks. Some asked her if she had gotten punched in Max and Lucas's fight, and so much other crap.

_Yes, the bell. It's lunch. Half the days over, only half left!_

Brooke quickly hid in the bathroom and let the huge crowd go to their next classes or gather in the cafe before she left school and made for her car.

She could sit in her car for lunch so she wouldn't have to talk to anyone.

But before she could get there, she heard someone call her name from behind.

Brooke froze.

_Oh no._

She turned around, to see Max running for her. She couldn't breath anymore... she couldn't even move her legs. Her stupid feet had betrayed her.

"W-what," Brooke stuttered.

Max stopped a few feet from her.

"Brooke," he whispered again.

Brooke felt herself tremble. It was nothing like she had expected.

She wasn't mad or scared.

Just numb.

"I honestly..." Max took a deep breath, "I don't know what to say. I thought about calling you or coming to see you so many times, but I was too ashamed. I didn't know what to do."

Brooke didn't reply.

Max signed, not able to meet her eyes.

"Uhm, I know you can never forgive me for that night, but I do want to explain." Max glanced up to meet her eyes, but couldn't hold the gaze and quickly averted his eyes.

"I got so cruncked that day, honestly, and I know that isn't an excuse, but seriously Brooke, I was dead drunk. I couldn't see straight. I don't know what got into me. And I wanted you so bad Brooke. I couldn't control myself. Ever since the first day I saw you, I've wanted you. And, all this shit people told me about you, well it all got to me. And trust me, I don't expect forgiveness, but I want to tell you. I'll never be able to look at myself the same, I hate myself. I fucked up. I screwed up the best thing that could've happened to me. I'm sorry." Max muttered, playing with his fingers, still not looking at her.

Brooke bit her bottom lip, and sighed. "I could never forgive you Max, you took something from me that will never come back. You took a piece of me, that I'll never get back. I'll never be the same, this will always follow me. I'm always going to hate you Max,"

With that, Brooke turned away from him, and strode towards her car. She looked back to where Max still stood, as she lowered herself into her seat. She closed the door, taking a deep breath.

"Still don't lock your doors, c'mon Brooke,"

Brooke nearly screamed before noticing Lucas in the backseat.

"What the hell are you doing?" Brooke screamed, still trying to calm her racing her heart.

"Sorry, I didn't know how else to talk to you."

Brooke looked away, "I have to get outta here,"

She opened her door, and started to walk away, when Lucas quickly got out and blocked her passage.

"I need to talk to you Brooke." He whispered urgently.

"I_don't _want to talk," she muttered.

"I saw you talking to Max, you didn't look happy,"

Brooke tried to walk around him, "Leave me alone,"

Lucas leaned to his left, blocking her again, "I know somethings wrong,"

"Nothings wrong,"

"Then why won't you look at me?" He demanded.

Startled, Brooke noticed she was staring at her shoes.

"Please Luke, just leave me alone," she begged, turning away from him.

"Brooke-..." he started, grabbing her elbow to stop her.

Unfortunately, it landed on one of her remaining bruises. Brooke flinched painfully, pulling her arm away from him.

Lucas gasped.

**A/n so a little twisted. Not what you'd expect from a rapist eh? **

**And as for Lucas, he seems to be catching on slowly.**

**How long until he finds out?**

**Will he find out?**

**What will happen to Max?**


	10. Chapter 10

"What the hell is going on?" Lucas exclaimed, confusion masking his face, his forehead wrinkling up, his eyes squinting slightly.

Brooke would've found it extremely cute, had it not been under such circumstances.

"Nothing, butt out of my life okay," Brooke whispered, mustering up all the courage she could manage.

Lucas shook his head.

_He knew something was wrong, he could tell. Her appearance change, her attitude, she isn't that strong girl that could take anyone anymore… she looked scared and vulnerable. He hated seeing her look so alone, he wanted nothing less then to grab her and force her to share her worries with him. He wanted the old Brooke back; he wanted to see her confident smile, that made everything seem alright._

"Is it something with Max –actually dumb question, I _know_ its something to do with him. Just tell me what it is." He asked uncertainly, still not able to get over the way she was hugging herself. He hadn't grabbed her that hard, he had just stopped her, why did she react so strongly.

He took a step towards her, but she backed away quickly.

"Honestly, I don't know what you're talking about, I have to go," she whispered, turning away from him and attempting to open her driver side door.

Lucas placed his hand on the door, pushing it closed, forcing her to turn to him again.

"Brooke, just cause we're not together anymore-…"

"You know what Lucas, it's not because we're not together anymore, it's because we're not together anymore because you couldn't keep your hands off my _best friend._" Brooke snapped, throwing her door open, and paused, challenging him to try anything, when he didn't she sat in, and drove out of the parking lot, heading back home.

She didn't want to, she really didn't, but she could feel tears falling from her eyes uncaringly. Her vision blurred, she brushed them away angrily.

She wasn't the same anymore.

She would never be the same.

She felt sad, violated, and very alone, and yet the one person she needed most right now, was the one person she won't allow to be there. She felt anger and hatred towards him still.

Her old bruises were still raw. Her new bruises hurt just as much. She didn't know what to do, yet she wouldn't allow anyone to help her.

She couldn't.

This was her fault. Lucas told her, he _warned _her to not get involved with Max. Yet she did. She did everything to make Max crazy over her. And she exceeded alright. But not the way she had intended.

Nothing turned out the way she had planned. Nothing ever turned out the way she wanted.

She and Lucas didn't last. Her friendship with Peyton didn't last. Her new found feelings for Max certainly didn't last.

She knew she wanted Lucas with her; she needed him to hold her and tell her everything would be alright. But she sure as hell would not let him touch her when he's just come back from doing whatever he does with Peyton.

She wouldn't.

She deserved better then someone who wasn't fully committed to her, but flip flopped between her best friend and her.

_Why was she even thinking about him? He didn't matter anymore. He could just take his sympathy and shove it. She didn't need him. She didn't need him to want to play hero for her. _

Brooke knew Lucas; he always wanted to be hero. Just cause this time she seemed to be the damsel in distress, she will _not _let Lucas be her shoulder to cry on.

_She will not._

Brooke parked her car in the driveway, but just sat there. She couldn't go back into that house. She couldn't handle it anymore. Looking at that place was too much for her. She didn't want to do that anymore.

She couldn't live here anymore.

Brooke didn't want to live here anymore. She loved Rachel, but she couldn't handle living in that house. She had been _raped_ in that house. How could she continue living there? She will never get over it if she had to live in the place, where everywhere she looked she saw Max attacking her.

She couldn't handle. She didn't want to be here.

Brooke wrapped her arms around herself, not caring about the pain she felt touching her bruises. It didn't matter anymore.

Brooke didn't know when it started. But all of a sudden, she was sobbing her heart out. She was screaming in tears, and just bawling uncontrollably.

_She didn't want to deal with her life anymore. She couldn't take it. She can't – she can not wake up every morning to come to school and deal with Max being there, or Lucas being there. She didn't want to be in the same breathing space as them. She didn't want to see either of them for the rest of her life. They hurt her so much… so damn much, that they'd never even know. They wouldn't know how much she's cried. They wouldn't know how she feels, how shit she feels. She wants to crawl up in a whole and fucking die, and they'd never know. _

Brooke wiped her swollen eyes.

_She thought she could handle it, but she really couldn't anymore._

_She seriously could not._

_But where could she go._

_She had no where else to go._

_She didn't know where her parents were. They hadn't called her ever since she decided to stay in Tree Hill, instead of moving with them._

Brooke stepped out of the car, and stumbled a bit in weakness, but was quickly balanced by a pair of gentle hands. Brooke looked up to find Karen staring back at her, her eyes filled with concern.

Brooke wanted to be strong, but she couldn't. She burst into tears the second she saw her. Karen's eyes softened, and brought her into a hug.

Brooke winced when she put her arms around her.

"Brooke?" she muttered worried, "What happened?"

Brooke shook her head, not able to form words. She was tired; she didn't want to fight it anymore.

Karen took her arms, which caused Brooke to flinch and pull herself away from her. Karen frowned, and started to fumble with Brooke's sleeves, to roll them up.

Brooke just stood there. She didn't fight it. She couldn't anymore. She let Karen roll up her sleeves.

She shut her eyes tight, when she heard Karen gasp in horror.

"Brooke, what happened, oh my god Brooke," she stuttered.

Brooke shrugged, not wanting to lie. She wanted Karen to know. Karen was more of a mom then her own; she wanted Karen's motherly touch, her motherly care.

Without thinking, the whole story spilled out of Brooke's trembling lips…

**A/n tell me what you think! R&R**

**Somethiiiiiiiings to come!**


	11. Chapter 11

Karen watched in shock and horror as the girl in front of her, the girl she loved like a daughter, broke down.

Everything that spilled out of Brooke's trembling lips pushed a knife deeper and deeper into her heart. _How could Brooke have gone through all that, how could anyone treat her like that? _

Karen felt tears drip out of her own eyes, as she pulled the broken girl into her arms. Karen could see the bruises over Brooke's arms, and could just imagine how horrible he must have been with her, to inflict such scars.

Karen wanted to hug Brooke whole heartedly, pulling her as close as she could, but she was scared to hurt the fragile girl. She didn't want to pain Brooke and cause her to remember each bruise again and again.

_You got to get a hold of yourself Karen, _she scolded herself, as much as Karen wanted to cry for Brooke, she had to be strong, she had to be strong for Brooke. Brooke needed her.

"Brooke," Karen started slowly, pulling away from Brooke, "I'm so sorry sweetheart," She whispered as calmly as she could possible manage. She couldn't help but imagine how Lucas would feel, if he knew. _He wouldn't be able to handle it._

Brooke shook her head, she didn't want Karen to feel sorry for her, and she couldn't handle sympathy.

"Who else knows?" Karen asked gently, hoping Brooke hadn't tortured herself by keeping it in the whole time.

Brooke wiped her tears away, pushing her sleeves back down to cover her arms, before hesitantly looking up at Karen again, "Just Rachel,"

Karen closed her eyes sadly, knowing what Brooke's answer would be, "We have to go to the police,"

"NO!" Brooke yelled quickly, "I _will not_ go to the police,"

Karen shook her head, "You have to Brooke, you were _raped_, it wasn't just a little thing, Max raped you, and he deserves to be in jail!"

Brooke shook her head again, hugging herself sadly, "If we went to the police, everyone would know,"

"Everyone deserves to know! They should know what kind of a guy Max is!" Karen insisted bitterly.

"But I don't want anyone to know about me, Karen. I don't want to be put up like that. Everyone knows what a slut I am, they know how I've slept with half the school, and everyone saw how I've been after Max recently, I would be a laughing stock, and I won't let that happen," Brooke whispered, sounding so small that it broke Karen's heart.

"But Brooke, they wouldn't laugh. You've been raped, how could anyone laugh at that," Karen reasoned gently.

Brooke shook her head, "Karen, I've been a bitch to many people. People know me as this popular girl that has been in every guy's bed. They know me as the girl that thinks she's above everyone else. I'm the girl all girls hate, and all guys want for the night. No one will get it. They won't,"

Karen shook her head, "Brooke, does it really matter that much what people think," She asked desperately, "Doesn't getting justice, and giving Max what he deserves count for anything?"

Brooke looked away, "Karen please, I'm not going to the police, and I beg you not to either,"

Karen nodded sceptically, "But Brooke…" But the look on Brooke's face told Karen not to argue just now, "Fine… for now, _but_ remember, there are many things we have to talk about and do, I won't let you sit back and ignore the situation, but for now, I will give it a rest,"

Brooke smiled sadly, "Thank you, thank you so much,"

Karen nodded, "But what about Haley… or Peyton or Lucas,"

Brooke frowned, "Karen-…"

"I know! But, Peyton is- was your best friend. You know you need her more then anyone right now, and the only person that could compete with her, is Lucas. He would want to be there for you,"

"Karen, those two are the last people I want here for me. I would _never_ go to Peyton or Lucas for this. Lucas warned me not to go after Max, I will not go to him with this I wouldn't be able to look him in the eye. Nor would I want to be vulnerable in front of Lucas. I've done that way too many times, and have learned my lesson. And Peyton, I don't need her to know that after she stole Lucas from me, I made my life a train wreck. I won't give either of them the satisfactions of letting them see what I've done to myself; they don't matter to me,"

"Brooke?" Karen whispered, "Why do you keep saying what you've done to yourself? You do know that this wasn't you fault right?"

Brooke shrugged, "It doesn't matter, nothing's going to change," Brooke muttered.

When Karen opened her mouth to disagree, Brooke quickly cut in, "Can we just drop it for now I really don't want to talk about it again,"

Karen nodded, bringing the delicate girl into her gentle arms again.

Brooke looked back up at the house, "It's just so hard to get over it, when I have to see the place over and over again, every day," Brooke whispered, more to herself then Karen.

"Oh no, you don't actually think I'm going to let you live in the place you were raped," Karen stated.

Brooke looked up at Karen confused, "But Karen, I have no where else-…"

"You're staying with me,"

Brooke gaped, "No, Karen I can't do that! I don't want to do that to you. Look Karen, you don't have to take responsibility of me, I'll be fine," But Brooke could hear how weak she sounded, and the crack in her speech didn't help.

"No." Karen stated simply.

"In case you forgot, Lucas lives there,"

"You matter more in this situation."

"Karen-…"

"You can't let Lucas get in the way of you trying to heal from the horrible trauma you've been through. It's never going to happen if you live here," Karen insisted, motioning towards the house.

"I know, but it won't happen if I have Lucas with Peyton flaunted in my face,"

"Brooke, like you said those two don't matter to you. So don't let them. You need someone there for you, and I want to be that person. You need a mom more then anything right now, an adult who you can share your problems with, and who understands you. And I want to be that person for you, if you let me be," Karen asked, determined.

Brooke took a deep breath. _How could she handle living with Lucas? But she did need Karen, she needed her more then anything right now, and it's not like she could live in this house anymore. So why shouldn't she take up the offer. Yeah, it will hurt having to see Lucas all the time, but she'll have to get over it. Her life is more important then dealing with Lucas. She can't let him ruin things for her again. He can't always come in the way of her happiness, and her happiness lies in healing. She needs a mom, and Karen could be that for her. So should she go live with Karen?_

Karen gave her a sad smile, her eyes desperate to help.

Brooke melted.

"Let me get my stuff,"

"Lucas! Wait up!"

Lucas turned to watch Peyton running up to him, "Where were you? I was looking everywhere for you! Where did you go after lunch?"

Lucas shrugged lamely, "I just didn't feel like coming to class,"

The truth was Lucas couldn't get Brooke's distressed face out of his mind. Every time he tried to think of something else, Brooke's anger, her distress, her hurt… and her sadness would cloud his mind.

There was something wrong, he knew that much, but wished she would tell him what. He couldn't really expect her to come to him with her problems, but it still hurt that she wouldn't. He hated seeing her like she was today. She didn't even have her confident, don't care, exterior up today. Nor did she bother dressing up, the Brooke he knew would never have come to school in a simple hoodie and tracks, she would never leave the house without her up to date, most expensive designer clothes, and even though she still looked gorgeous, it wasn't something Brooke would've done.

"So what did you do all day," Peyton asked, sliding her books into her bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Nothing, just sat here," Lucas stated, nodding to the back steps.

Peyton held a look of confusion, but eventually let it go, "Alright, anything you want to talk about?" She asked hopefully, a little part of her taking it as a test, to see if Lucas would open up to her. He had seemed so closed off recently, and it hurt that he couldn't trust her with his problems.

"It's just…" Lucas trailed off, he wasn't sure Peyton wanted to know that it was because of Brooke. He knew it would hurt her, and she'd think he still loved Brooke. And that was a question he couldn't really answer, not to her, nor himself, "Nothing really, just a chemistry test that I didn't study for, so I'll just say I went home, and do it tomorrow,"

Peyton raised her brow, not buying it, but she let it go. She couldn't force Lucas to open up which sucked, but she'd have to wait until he was ready.

Peyton slinked her arm through his, and rested her head on his upper arm as they walked to his car.

Lucas sighed, resting his head on hers, "I'm sorry I'm not the best boyfriend, Peyton,"

Peyton looked up, causing him to remove his head from her, and she stopped suddenly, "Lucas?" She questioned, her eyes searching his, "What are you talking about? I _love_ you Lucas, you're a great guy and a great boyfriend, what's gotten into you? What's the matter, please tell me?" she asked desperately.

Lucas frowned, "It's just, I know I've been really distant lately, and I don't know why. I feel like there's so much going on all the time, that I don't get to invest as much time in you as I should,"

Peyton shook her head, "Lucas, I want you to know, I understand you. You don't ever have to hide anything from me, I'll always be here to listen… to anything," she ended, as she leaned up and captured his lips.

Lucas tried, he really did, he wanted to respond to the kiss, but Brooke's empty eyes flashed before his eyes, and as much as he tried to ignore those sad small eyes, he couldn't get them out of his mind. He put his arms around Peyton, bringing her closer, hoping she could make his thoughts disappear, but looking down at Peyton... he saw Brooke.

Lucas pulled away quickly.

_That wasn't right._

"What's wrong?" Peyton asked, confused.

"Nothing Peyton, I'm sorry," Lucas apologized quickly, pulling Peyton into an affectionate hug; sincerely sorry for how he always ended up treating her recently.

Peyton held on to him tightly, _something wasn't right_, and for some reason it sparked a tiny fear into her. She snuggled into Lucas's arms, but a weird part of her felt out of place, like her and Lucas didn't fit, like she wasn't the one meant to be in these arms. A certain brunette popped into her mind, and Peyton closed her eyes pushing that image away and tightening her arms around Lucas.

**A/n Brooke moving in with Karen… and Lucas! Can Karen help Brooke heal… and convince her to see the police? Or will living with Lucas be too much to bear? Will Lucas get to the bottom of Brooke's pain? Brucas?**

**Things don't seem so peachy for Leyton? **

**Next Chapter : Brooke moves in!**

**Karen tells Brooke to see the doctor.**

**Lucas brings Peyton home, to find Brooke already there!**


	12. Chapter 12

Brooke hesitantly took a step into the house. It was so weird, she had been in this house billions of times, and had even lived in it once, but walking into it today made her feel out of place and uncomfortable.

It wasn't her place to be coming here anymore. When Lucas and her had broken up, she had broken up with the house too, and coming in it made her feel like she was invading territory.

Karen helped her carry in a few of her bags, before turning to frown at Brooke, "You have been here before, you know where your room is," she joked, giving her a playful push.

Brooke looked up a little surprised, _she was going to get Lucas's room again?_

Well it made sense, but it was so weird now. How could she be staying in his room? After their history together, it would feel weird to be sleeping there.

"But what about Lucas?"

Karen grinned, "We'll make him sleep on the couch!"

Brooke laughed, "Thanks Karen, you really are awesome,"

Karen winked, before turning to go into the kitchen," You go get comfortable and put away your stuff, I'll get dinner started,"

Brooke nodded, making her way to the all too familiar room and putting dropping her bags to the ground, _ok maybe this wasn't one of my best decisions. _ Brooke thought, looking around at the room.

It brought back memories would be an understatement, along with that it brought back feelings. It brought back all the good and bad times not only in this room, but with the owner of this room as well.

Brooke went into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked horrible! Her eyes were slightly puffy from the crying, and she actually had dried tears on her cheeks. Brooke threw water at her face, trying to look at least a little composed. She looked back up at herself, _I can do this. I'm stronger then this._

With that, Brooke joined Karen in the kitchen. Karen who was putting something in the oven, looked over at her, and smiled warmly, causing the doubt in Brooke to vanish.

"Need help," Brooke asked.

"Actually I do," Karen informed, smiling secretively.

Brooke nodded, "What would you want me to do,"

Karen put on a serious face, "What you _have _to do is… I was making chocolate cake, but I have too much batter for the pan, I need your help to solve this problem,"

It took a second for Brooke to register what had just been said, and a slow smile broke onto her face, "_Fiiiiiiine_," Brooke replied, a look of mock aghast on her face.

"That's not the way to my house," Peyton informed, with a raised brow, hardly able to contain her smile.

Lucas gasped, "Really? I thought it was; too late to turn now, guess we're just going to have to go to my place then,"

"Hm, if I didn't know any better, I'd think this was a plan Mr. Scott,"

"A plan? I'm shocked you'd accuse me of such a thing," Lucas joked, as he pulled into his driveway. He led Peyton to the porch as he turned to face her.

"Wanna stay for dinner?" He asked with a cute little grin on his face.

_The truth was he felt a little guilty for the way he had been treating Peyton lately, with his mixed emotions and moody personality. He knew he had time and time again put Peyton on the backburner and it wasn't fair to her, and Lucas was sick of always hurting the people that loved him._

Peyton smirked, "Only if I get to stay for dessert," she responded slyly.

Lucas pulled Peyton closer, "Oh you'd like that wouldn't you," he whispered, as he wrapped her arms around her waist.

"You _know_ I would,"

Lucas grinned, pulling her into the house, "But first, the dinner,"

Peyton laughed, as he pulled her onto his shoulders, carrying her piggyback, "Mom, look who followed me home," Lucas called out, as Peyton swatted him playfully.

"Lucas!" She gasped, but broke out giggling.

"Mom! I'm home, it's me and-…"

Lucas broke off, because just as he entered the kitchen he saw her. She stood beside the stove with his mom, holding a wooden ladle in one hand and a bowl full of chocolate mix in the other, looking just as shocked as him.

"Brooke," Lucas whispered.

Brooke watched as he slowly let Peyton off his back and they stood beside each other, both looking a little guilty.

She couldn't help it, as much as she tried for it not to bother her, she still felt a tug at her heart, watching her former lover and best friend look so happy and in love together. Brooke gulped down at little knot that had stubbornly formed in her throat.

_Yes, this was definitely a bad idea. What the hell was she thinking, that this could actually be normal, moving in to her ex boyfriends house, who was now going out with her once best friend. _

Karen glanced at Brooke, realizing the pain the girl beside her felt, the girl she had brought into her home to protect from the hurt.

"Uhm, Lucas… and Peyton," Karen started, not sure of what to say.

She couldn't really kick her son and his girlfriend out, nor could she erase the past few seconds, "What a wonderful surprise,"

Lucas couldn't take his eyes off Brooke_. What was she doing here? Was she here to see him?_ And worst of all, he couldn't help but notice how beautiful she looked with the chocolate batter on her cheek, and a bit remaining on her lips. And he could just picture himself licking it off her.

Peyton fidgeted uncomfortable beside him, bringing him back to reality, "Oh mom, uhm, we just-…"

"I was just leaving," Peyton interjected quickly, smiling awkwardly.

Lucas was really grateful to Peyton for not making this situation any more awkward, and he smiled awkwardly at her, "Uh yeah, and I'll just walk her out,"

They both turned to quickly walk away, when Brooke stopped them.

"No, don't leave on my account. It's your house, and you shouldn't have to make your girlfriend leave," Brooke stated, plastering an unconcerned look on her face, "Plus, I'm your new roommate, so we're going to have to get use to stuff like this,"

"Huh?" Lucas mumbled in shock, _she was staying in his house?_

Peyton gasped slightly.

Karen smiled hesitantly, "Say welcome to your new roommate! And you already know where your new bed is," She teased, trying to lighten the situation.

Lucas still couldn't believe it, _why would Brooke live with him? She was living with Rachel and she hated him, what was going on?_

Peyton looked at Lucas sideways, _was this Brooke's ploy to get Lucas back, _she couldn't help but wonder. Brooke had a place with Rachel, why was she all of a sudden moving in here. _To get closer to Lucas?_

As much as Peyton regret the pain she had put Brooke through, she couldn't help but resent Brooke for her promiscuous plans. Here she was, shamelessly trying to steal Lucas away from her.

_Moving in with him, typical Brooke move. _ Peyton thought, wanting to call Brooke out.

"Actually, I just remembered something I had to do, so I should really go," Peyton added awkwardly, not really wanting to go through the most awkward dinner of her life. She glanced at Lucas, "I'll call you later," She whispered, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

Lucas nodded, still in shock.

Brooke looked to Karen nervously, not sure of what to do next.

Karen smiled reassuringly, "Well then, let's get dinner set,"

Later on that night, after Brooke had called Rachel to tell her what was going on, Brooke slipped into the bed, trying to get comfortable. It was weird, she had been in this bed so many times before, countless times with Lucas, but it still felt weird.

Brooke thought back to dinner, where the three of them had sat at the table awkwardly, the two teenagers staring down at their food as Karen tried to make light conversation with no success.

Brooke had quickly gulped down the food quickly, and dashed to her room. She even refused Karen when she called her out for dessert. It wasn't always going to be like this, Karen would make sure of that, but even Karen let her off today, knowing how hard this was for Brooke.

She heard a soft knock on her door, before Karen poked her head in, "Think I can come in?"

Brooke nodded, smiling politely.

"I'm sorry about this afternoon, the whole Lucas Peyton thing, you shouldn't have to see that,"

Brooke shrugged, "It shouldn't matter,"

"I know, unfortunately, what we know shouldn't matter, often does," Karen responded lightly.

Brooke nodded, "It just sucks. I don't like Lucas anymore, like I don't want to be with him, and nor do I want any friendship with Peyton, but then why does it hurt. I hate that it does, but I'll deal with it, I don't want you to ever feel bad about that,"

"I'm sorry Lucas hurt you so much," Karen whispered, sincerely.

Brooke smiled, "It isn't your fault Karen, plus, it's okay. This is good, because seeing those two together, will probably help me get over it quicker right. Like dealing with them, is nothing compared to what I have to deal with, which makes their issue pretty small," Brooke insisted, sceptically.

Karen smiled, bringing her arm over Brooke's shoulder affectionately, "I love you so much Brooke and you deserve so much happiness. In fact, Lucas doesn't deserve your love Brooke, you're such a beautiful girl, inside and out, you deserve _so _much happiness, and you will get it, I just know it,"

Brooke smiled, looking up at her, "Thanks Karen, no one's ever said that to me before," she whispered, her eyes teary, "Honestly, thank you so much for being here for me, you're like the mother I always wanted,"

"And as the mother you always wanted, I need you to do something for me." Karen stated, taking a deep breath, "I need you to go see the doctor,"

Brooke gasped, pulling away slightly, "But-…"

"See the doctor for what?"

The two females looked up to see Lucas standing in the doorway.

**A/n Aw for Brooke! R & R**

**Please forgive me for the grammar mistakes, I have to go out, and I'm getting late, wanted to post an update before I left: )**

**Leave a review and let me know what you think / feel ? what you want for this story, and your reflection on whats been happening. **

**Thank you! **


	13. Chapter 13

Brooke felt panic arise inside her, as her mind stumbled for excuses that she couldn't seem to get straight

Brooke felt panic arise inside her, as her mind stumbled for excuses that she couldn't seem to get straight.

"She feels a fever coming on," Karen answered smoothly, causing Brooke to let out a tiny sigh of relief, as she looked back up at Lucas with a nod.

Lucas suspiciously stepped into the room, he had a feeling they were lying, there was something definitely wrong with Brooke, but no one's telling him what, and it frustrated him.

"You usually tell me to get Advil for that?" He challenged.

"You're right; maybe we should try that first, huh Brooke,"

Brooke nodded quickly, placing a hand on her forehead, "It's actually getting better. When I first moved in, it was much worse, but maybe it was just the stress of moving into a new –err old new place." She recovered lamely.

Lucas leaned against the doorframe again, "And about the move in? Are you going to tell me she's moving in cause you thought she had a fever or something, c'mon seriously guys, tell me the truth?" he asked.

Brooke glared at him, "Lucas, who the hell are you to question what I do? Stop trying to interfere in my life," Brooke exclaimed harshly.

Lucas frowned, "So if I had randomly moved into your place, you're telling me you wouldn't _question _it?" 

_He had a point, _"Maybe I would, but there's a difference between the two of us, I was innocent in our break up," She snapped, sitting up in the bed. She knew bringing up their break up as a cover was pretty lame, and the explanation was crap but she couldn't think of anything else to tell him.

"_YOU dumped ME!" _Lucas yelled exasperated, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Oh yeah, and I'm the bad guy that just _randomly _dumped you right? No, you know why it happened, so don't even pretend to be the good guy in this," Brooke stated angrily.

"How am _I _the bad guy, if someone had feelings for me, how is it _my fault?_" He questioned, in frustration, "You're the one-…"

"Ok ok, guys break it up," Karen interjected, standing up to stop this brewing argument before it went any further.

Brooke stood up and grabbed a shirt from her suit case, "Don't worry Karen, I already did," she smirked, before storming into the bathroom.

"Oh nice comeback," Lucas called after her sarcastically, and then glared at his mom, "Peyton was already insecure about Brooke, thanks for helping out, and inviting her to live with us," Lucas stated, questioningly.

Karen frowned, "Ok Lucas, I don't want you coming in this room while Brooke's staying with us-…"

"Don't worry, I highly doubt you'd be walking into a make-out," He said dryly.

Karen sighed, "Listen Lucas, I don't think she needs you hanging around her,"

"So you brought her to live with us?" Lucas asked confused, still not quite sure what was happening. One moment Brooke was telling him to leave her the hell alone, the next she was staying in his room.

"Lucas, this is Brooke's personal stuff," Karen stated simply, walking out of the room.

Lucas followed her to the kitchen table where he sat across her, where she couldn't avoid him any longer.

"Mom, I know there is something that you guys aren't telling me, and it must be pretty big for you to bring her to live with us, please just tell me what it is, I need to know," he pleaded.

It was so hard to sit there and hear the desperation in her son's voice, and not be able to give him an answer, she wanted to tell him more then anything, and a part of her thought Brooke would be better off if she knew, but another part of her was scared. What if she told Lucas, and Brooke felt so betrayed, that she even backed away from her, and isolated herself. What if she didn't have any one to help and guide her threw this time, because Karen couldn't be loyal to her word, and told Brooke's ex boyfriend her darkest secret.

Karen sighed, "She thought she might have a fever, so I told her to go to the doctor if it gets worse,"

"Mom, that's not it!" Lucas declared frustrated, "I saw her at school today, and she wouldn't talk to me at all, when I grabbed her arm, she flinched, and mom I'm scared, I know there's something wrong with her, ever since that party where she passed out, something's been wrong, she didn't come to school for over a week, and you should've seen her today, something is definitely off, and I just need to know, I'm going to go crazy mom," 

Karen felt trapped. It was so hard seeing her son like this, he was so sad and lost and confused that it broke her heart, especially knowing what she did she knew Lucas wouldn't know how to deal with that. She knew how much it would hurt him if he ever found out, and how angry he would be at her for keeping it from him. But she couldn't do that to Brooke, today Brooke had trusted her like a mom, she confided in her and she couldn't break that girls trust, not in the state she's in.

Karen knew Lucas wouldn't let up if she didn't say anything, so she did the only thing she could think of, and made something up.

"She had a huge fight with Rachel, and so in a fit of rage she moved out, but had no where to go, so until things get sorted with Rachel, she's going to be staying here,"

Lucas nodded slowly, not looking too convinced, but satisfied with an answer, "But that doesn't explain her week absence, and her state at school today," He asked suspiciously.

"Uh," Karen stumbled.

"Karen," 

The mother son looked up to see Brooke come out of the room with a huge fluffy robe on, still glaring at Lucas, "Do you mind if Lucas and I have a word privately."

Karen looked sceptical, yet grateful to get out of her situation, "No problem," 

Lucas was glad to follow her into his room, he needed a chance to be able to talk to her alone, and he wanted answers.

Brooke walked into her room and sat at the edge of her bed, but when he sat beside her, she got up and stood a few feet away from him, crossing her arms across her middle.

Lucas raised an eye brow, but didn't comment, afraid to lose this opportunity, "Let me say what I want to say, and that's it, okay?" She asked stubbornly.

"Isn't that how it always is," He muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Okay listen, if you have a problem with me staying here, just tell me, and I'll leave," She asked, losing her tough exterior once again, but still keeping a straight face.

Lucas shook his head, "Brooke, I just want to know what's going on, I don't have a problem with you being here," He whispered, shrugging.

"Ok Lucas, I want to stay here for a bit, and I really hope you'll let me, and still respect our relationship to what it us, or should I say our lack of relationship. We're not going out, we're not friends, we're nothing," Brooke explained, "I would really hope you would stop asking questions about me or what's going on with me, please, that's all I will ask of you, that's the one thing you can do for me,"

Lucas stood up, and tried to reach out for her, but she stepped back again, hugging herself tightly, "Lucas,"

"Brooke," Lucas called out desperately, "I don't like seeing you like this. Please stop this act you guys are putting up, I get that we're not going out, but can we at least try to be friends, I just want to be there for you, through whatever you're going through,"

"Why Lucas? Why do you care so much?" She asked frustrated, "Why can't you just leave me alone,"

"_Because I care about you_ Brooke," He shrugged simply, "I'll always care,"

"Care?" She laughed bitterly, "Don't ever use that word in front of me again. Care you did not, when you went to my best friend after we broke up, so don't ever _ever_ say that to me," she declared, biting her bottom lip, as she fought back tears.

_She had loved this guy in front of her so much, he had been the one guy that had made her want to change herself… that had changed her, and then he left her, the first time he broke her heart, the second time… he broke her._

_A bitter part of her blamed him for what happened to her. She blamed him for not fighting for her after their break up, she blamed him for going to Peyton, and she blamed him for her having to go to someone else._

Lucas looked searchingly into her eyes, they held so many secrets, so much pain and hurt, and it frustrated him that he couldn't make it all go away, it frustrated him that he lost her, and she didn't trust him anymore.

"I want to be there for you," He whispered.

"Too late," She shrugged, a tear escaping her eyes and trailing down her cheek treacherously.

Lucas shook his head stubbornly, his hand reaching out to her cheek, in an attempt to wipe the tear away, but as soon as their skin made contact, Brooke flinched. She backed away from him, looking small and alone.

Lucas gulped, feeling helpless, "What's going on with Max?" As soon as the name left his lips, he saw the pain flash threw her eyes momentarily, but before he could comment on it, it was gone.

"We just finished a conversation about you budding out of my life," 

"Are you guys still together, I saw you talking to him before, and neither of you seemed happy, did anything happen?"

Brooke gulped, "No,"

Lucas shook his head, smiling bitterly, "I know something's up, so tell me what he did?" he ordered sternly.

Now it was getting extremely difficult for Brooke not to burst into tears, and a part of her wanted nothing more then to fall into his arms and tell him everything, but she couldn't do that. She could never tell Lucas, and she wouldn't. So the weak Brooke did what she did best, and became the bitchy Brooke.

"Nothing, now go back to your precious Peyton, because who knows she might be trying to steal Nathan from Haley now. You do know she only likes the chase, but then again, Nathan _loves _Haley, he would never leave her for Peyton, even if she pushed him away, he would never stop fighting for her, I guess that's what you call _true love_," She stated.

Lucas smirked angrily, "Now I know something's defiantly up, and it involves Max," He said turning for the door before turning back to face her, "And Brooke, I _will_ find out,"

Brooke watched him leave, and felt herself fall in front of her bed, and cry softly into her arms.

"So, did you find out why Brooke's there?" Peyton asked the next morning as they got out of the car for school the next morning.

Lucas shrugged, "Something about a fight with Rachel," He mumbled.

Peyton frowned as she put her arms around Lucas's waist. They walked toward the school in silence, both not convinced with the explanation.

As they walked, Lucas caught Max sitting with a few guys from basketball, "Um Peyton, you go on to your locker, I'll be right there okay?" He excused himself, detangling from the blond.

Peyton nodded, as she entered the school.

Lucas made his way toward Max, and as soon as Max saw him he visibly tensed up, and his laughing stopped.

"I need to talk to you," Lucas asked seriously.

Max laughed nervously, "So talk,"

"Alone,"

Max didn't respond for a moment, before he finally got up and followed Lucas as they turned a corner and were deserted at the side of the school. Max looked around nervously, "Yeah what's up?"

"You tell me," Lucas asked frowning; the way Max was acting caused his suspicion to rise.

"I don't know what you mean?"

"Brooke, what's up with you guys?"

"Um, nothing… we broke up," Max said, hesitantly.

"That's obvious, tell me why?"

"It's none of your business," Max stated, and before he knew it, he was roughly pushed up against the brick wall behind him as an angry Lucas leaned into him dangerously, his face turning slightly red.

"Tell Me Why," He ordered.

"Get off me," Max yelled, pushing away from him, "It's over, so you can stop with your jealousy, and get a fucking life," He stated, turning to leave.

Lucas smirked, before grabbing his shoulder and turning him around just in time for his fist to connect square into his jaw, causing Max to fall back, "What the fuck did you do to her," Lucas yelled, towering over him.

"What the hell's wrong with you," Max yelled, attempting to get up but Lucas wouldn't let him, as his eyes wore a murderous look, now more convinced then ever that Max had done something to Brooke, because of Max's lame comebacks. This was not the same arrogant guy at the party that had Brooke with him. He looked guilty, and it caused Lucas's blood to boil just thinking of what he could've done to hurt her.

Max struggled to push him away, but Lucas held him tightly on the ground, as he kneeled beside him, grabbing his collar.

All he could think of was how vulnerable and alone Brooke looked the first day back to school after her absence. He could remember her flinch when he reached out for her, and it made him growl in anger, and something clicked, "Wait…_did you hit her?_" Lucas asked shocked. The thought of him putting his hands on her made his hands ache to kill.

Max shook his head cowardly, trying to push away from him.

But all Lucas could think of was Brooke flinching as he had grabbed her arm, _no, that couldn't be,_ he felt himself shake in anger, he still remembered her from last night as she had hugged herself tightly backing away from him. 

He didn't know when his hands loosened and Max took the opportunity to run, but at that moment it didn't matter, he sat there on his knees alone, dead still and his mouth open in terrible shock.

"I don't want to go to school," Brooke complained.

"Brooke, you have to," Karen said sternly, "I'm not going to let him ruin your education,"

Brooke threw the covers over her face, "No Karen, my first day sucked, I can't go back there,"

Karen pulled the blanket off her face, "Brooke, you don't want people to talk right?"

Brooke moaned in response, "Well then, you're going to have to stop this staying at him feeling sorry for yourself, go back, show them nothings wrong, show Max that he couldn't destroy you," She encouraged, "You're the strongest girl I know Brooke, you have to go back to school with your head held up high, no one can break you, don't let them,"

A moment later Brooke pushed the covers off her, and with a mock roll of her eyes and a small wink got up to get ready.

Half an hour later she was in the kitchen dressed in a designer white fitted blouse and dark jeans, her make up and hair all done and ready to go, she grabbed her purse and was about to leave when Karen stopped her in the doorway.

"You can't leave without breakfast,"

"I never have breakfast," Brooke said, shrugging.

"Well no more of that," She said, putting a piece of toast in Brooke mouth to hold with her teeth as she slipped on her flats.

Brooke smiled, "You spoil me," she muttered in an accent before rushing out.

Karen smiled as she watched the girl go; it felt like forever that she'd seen that beautiful smile.

As soon as Brooke reached school, she caught up with Haley, "Hey tutor wife," 

Haley gasped in happiness when she saw her cheery best friend, it felt like ages since she had seen Brooke. She broke out into a grin and brought Brooke into her arms to give her a tight hug. 

It still stung for Brooke to have someone touch her fragile body, and she shut her eyes tight and clenched her teeth to not yell out in pain, and let her friend hug her.

"I missed you too," Brooke teased.

Haley grinned, "Great to see you back to yourself,"

"Great to be back," Brooke retorted, and she really meant that. She was sick of feeling sorry for herself and crying all the time, she missed her friends and her old life. Sure things sucked for her recently, but it wasn't the end of the world, it was time for her to move on and get back to her life.

"Now help me find my stupid husband, who gets me pregnant and then leaves me for his friends,"

"Just went to say hi crabby," Nathan laughed, sliding his arms in between her arms and hugging her bulging stomach.

Haley grinned, as he pecked her cheek, and then looked up at Brooke, "Where you been hiding, do you know how crazy it is to be around a pregnant Haley 24/7, I thought you said we'd share her," He joked.

Brooke laughed, "Had to take time off, but I'm back," 

Nathan nodded grinning, "Good to know, it would be nice to see a happy face around, this one is always throwing tantrums." 

"Hey!" Haley laughed.

Brooke laughed as she watched the happy couple in front of her. A sad smile playing on her face, _that's all I ever wanted. Will I ever find that? _She wondered, sadly. 

**A n : Brooke seems to be recovering slowly, and Lucas seems to be getting closer to the truth. Will Brooke be able to move on, and will Lucas find out, and if or when he does, what will he do to Max ? Read and Review! **


	14. Chapter 14

"Lucas, what's wrong

"Lucas, what's wrong?" Peyton asked when she found him sitting in his car after class. She had waited for him before class, but when he didn't come, she gave up. She had worried all throughout class, hoping he'd come in.

Now after class, she had quickly slipped outside to search for him, and was surprised to find him sitting in the driver's seat, his arm resting on the steering wheel, and just staring out in front of him.

She had sat beside him in the passenger's seat, but he didn't seem to notice her. She sighed in frustration, before tugging on his arm gently, "Lucas?"

He looked at her in confusion, "Peyton," He whispered slowly, as if saying her name for the first time.

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" She asked, slightly frustrated at how complicated he was being recently.

He shrugged, "I didn't wanna come to class,"

She frowned in hurt, "You said you'd meet me inside?" She stated, "You could've at least told me, I would've skipped with you."

He didn't respond at first, but Peyton wouldn't back down, _she wanted an answer and would wait all day if she had to_, "I needed time alone," he said finally.

"What's wrong?" She asked in exasperations, _why the hell couldn't he let her in?_

He shook his head, "It's… nothing,"

"Bull _fucking_ shit," She yelled, angrily getting out of the car. Lucas finally snapped out of it when he heard her door slam closed and quickly got out of his side and grabbed the fuming Peyton's arm.

"Peyton wait!" He begged.

She glared at him, "What Lucas, for what? So you could brush me off some more, make me feel even more left out, hurt me some more?" She snapped.

Lucas sighed, "No, Peyton c'mon, don't be mad at me, I just… things are just confusing for me right now,"

"What's confusing Lucas?" She challenged, "Why don't you tell me? _Why_, why do you not consider me worthy enough to just share your problems with, _I'm _your girlfriend, and though I don't really feel like it most of the time, but still, can't you just treat me like you're girlfriend,"

Lucas frowned at her, "So what, I should be all over you all the time?" he snapped, but when he saw the hurt in her eyes before anger flared inside her, he quickly regretted his harsh words.

She shook her head angrily before pulling away from him and turning to walk away.

"Oh shit," Lucas mumbled running to catch up to her, "Okay I'm sorry. You want to know the truth; the truth is I'm worried about Brooke,"

She turned to him with a raised brow, her hand resting on her hip as she waited for him to elaborate.

"Her moving into my house, it's confusing, I don't know what's going on, and I hope she's okay. Her absence at school and then her return with so many mysteries surrounding her have me worried," He admitted.

Peyton nodded, "I care about Brooke too, why can't you talk to me about your worries, I'm worried about her as well, but that doesn't mean I'll brush you off and shut you off from myself," She explained.

He nodded, gently bringing her closer into his arms, "You're right. I'm a jackass, and I keep messing up, I'm sorry,"

She sighed, "Lucas, just go back to the Lucas Scott I fell in love with," She pleaded, burying her face in his chest.

He took a deep breath, _please don't let anything have happened to Brooke, I'll never forgive myself if I wasn't able to protect her, please be okay Brooke._

After school, Brooke dropped by Nathan and Haley's place, after telling Karen she'd be a little late.

"You see this place; _do you see the mess I have to live in_?" Haley complained, stepping over Nathan's gym bag.

Brooke laughed, as Nathan quickly held back the sweatshirt he was just about to toss on the couch, "It's not _that _bad, you should see what me and Rachel use to live in. Make up and clothes all over the place," Brooke declared with exaggeration.

"See!" Nathan defended, "You call a shoe out of the rack a mess," He accused.

Haley rolled her eyes, "You both suck,"

"We're both hot too," Brooke pointed out, her elbow resting on Nathan's shoulder as she winked at him. Nathan laughed, "Girl's gotta point,"

Haley sighed, lowering herself to the couch and resting her hands on her growing tummy, "I hate feeling tired,"

Brooke smiled sympathetically, plopping down beside her and putting her hand on Haley's tiny bump, "It must feel so weird," She whispered in awe.

Nathan smiled, leaning over from behind the sofa and putting his arms around both Haley and Brooke, "You know, I could knock you up too, and then you can both go through this together," He teased.

Haley glared at him, as Brooke gasped, before playfully swatting him on the chest, "Ew Nathan," She laughed.

"What? You just said I was hot?" He asked in mock hurt.

"Yeah, but then me and you would have like a super hot kid, and your kid with Haley might feel a little sad," She joked.

"Hey!" Haley interrupted, "Are you saying my kid would be ugly?" She asked accusingly.

Brooke smiled, "Of course not, you're kids gonna be adorable, but ours would be _super duper hot_,"

Haley's eyes widened in disbelief, and then turned to glare at Nathan, "You're just going to let her diss our kid?"

Nathan smiled at his wife, "The girl makes sense," He joked, ready to get hell.

"Oh my GOD!" Haley yelled, "I hate you both!"

Brooke and Nathan looked at each other, before bursting out laughing, Brooke grabbed Nathan's arm and pulled him with her as they both put their arms around Haley, in an exaggerated hug, though it was as gentle as possible.

"Whatever, I'm not going to forgive you, just because you guys hug me," Haley announced stubbornly.

Nathan's eyes lit up mischievously, before he bent down and one of his arms went under her knees and then other to steady her back as he lifted her up, "I'm going to have to kidnap her for a bit, use _other_ way to get forgiveness," He winked.

Brooke laughed, "Want me to join?" She asked suggestively, before glancing down at her phone as it vibrated in her pocket, she sighed, flipping it open, "Hey, yeah Karen… alright I'm coming,"

Nathan mock pouted, "I was going to have my first threesome too," He complained.

Haley stuck her tongue out at him, causing Brooke to laugh at the couple again, "Another time," She winked, "I got to go,"

With that, Brooke grabbed her things and was out of there, leaving the couple to get on with their _other_ things.

She smiled to herself, feeling happy after what felt like so long. But her smile slowly disappeared when she saw a familiar car slow down beside her. She tried to quicken her pace, but the car altered its speed according to hers.

She felt a knot clog up in her throat as her flats slapped against the concrete under her faster. She was almost at the verge of breaking into a run, when she heard her name being called. She ignored it, and started to cut across someone's lawn when she heard the car stop, and someone run to catch up with her.

Brooke bit her bottom lip, and hesitantly turned around before he could touch her, "Leave me alone,"

"Brooke, let me drop you off,"

Brooke shook her head, "Leave me alone, stop following me, don't talk to me, don't even look at me, Max," She declared, losing her tough persona. For the first time she noticed a bruise beside his lips.

He noticed her eyes, and touched the bruise self consciously. Brooke couldn't help but smile in satisfaction, glad he went through even an inkling of the physical pain he had caused her.

"Look, I just, Brooke I really need to do something to be able to forgive myself, I can't ignore what I did, can we please be friends at least?" He asked hopefully.

Brooke laughed bitterly, "_Friends? _Max, you _do _know that friends don't rape each other right?" She asked, "Don't ever ask for friendship from me, never,"

Max looked away dejectedly, "You didn't tell Lucas?"

"Lucas?" Brooke asked surprised.

"Yeah, he was asking me what happened…to you," He mumbled, not able to meet her eye.

Now Brooke finally got it, "Is he who hit you?" She asked, shocked.

Max shrugged sheepishly.

"What did you tell him?" She demanded.

"That we broke up,"

Brooke was relieved, but couldn't help laugh cruelly, "You're so pathetic it's disgusting, I hope you rot in hell" She spat disgusted.

With that she turned away from him, and walked off.

"Hey mom," Lucas greeted, "Didn't Brooke come home yet?" He asked.

"She went to Nathan and Haley's place," Karen stated, stirring something in the pot.

Lucas nodded, "Mom… did Max hurt her," He asked quietly.

He wasn't sure Karen had heard, but she had frozen in her spot, and didn't turn to face him.

"Mom,"

"What makes you think that?" She asked, still not turning to face him.

Lucas shook his head, _he couldn't take their mind games anymore, why the hell couldn't he just get an answer, an honest answer,_ "Just tell me, please just tell me," He pleased helplessly.

Karen felt her hand shake, "No, they just mutually broke up," She lied, biting her tongue as angry tears sprung to her eyes.

Lucas stood up, "Why won't you look at me then?" He asked.

"Lucas, it's nothing. They broke up; she's taking it kind of hard." Karen countered, now stirring the pot quickly to avoid looking at him. She couldn't handle seeing the heartbreak in his eyes, and she couldn't allow for him to read the truth in hers.

"Mom, you've always taught me to be honest,"

"You couldn't be honest in your relationship; it's obvious you didn't learn much,"

Lucas turned around to see Brooke standing by the doorframe, her eyes teary.

_She always managed to break in at the worst times._

"Brooke, I need to talk to you,"

"Stop it!" She yelled, "Bud out of my life, please!" She begged, brushing past him toward the room.

_Enough was enough; he was going to get answers. _Lucas grit his teeth together, grabbing her arm before she could hide herself in the room. He hadn't realize how hard he had grabbed her, because she screamed out in pain and new tears pooled around her eyes as she pulled her arm away.

Lucas backed away like he had been burnt; his eyes wide open in fear.

"Lucas!" Karen yelled, stepping in between the two.

But neither of them seemed to have noticed, and over Karen's shoulder, their eyes locked with each other. His shocked and scared ones, with her hurt and angry ones, it was like the moment had frozen, as no one spoke. Their chest's heaving up and down, as both their heart's raced.

"Brooke," Karen whispered, breaking them from their trance.

Brooke's eyes left Lucas's and went to Karen, "I-…" But before she could get anything out, she felt her eyes roll to the back of her head, and her body stumble weakly.

Lucas gasped, and before Karen could do anything, Lucas had made his way around her, and his arms at Brooke's waist, before she could crash to the ground.

"Mom," He cried, looking up at his mom fearfully, holding the limp Brooke in his arms.

He bent slightly to get a hold on her before lifting her up, her head unconscious against his chest.

Karen felt tears spring to her eyes, _Oh my god, Brooke._ "I'm getting the car out," She stated, rushing out.

Lucas looked down at the limp body in his arms, her face so innocent and broken, dried up tears against her cheeks. He could feel tears pool his eyes, _what was going on?_

It was a long scary ride to the hospital, or it felt long, and as they got there, he carried her in, begging the nurse to get her to a doctor quickly. It all felt like a nightmare, moving in fast pace, and before he knew it they had wheeled out a bed for her, and wheeled her away. He watched her go, and couldn't help the tears drop out of his eyes.

_She had to be okay. What had happened… he had just grabbed her arm… the look in her eyes… what was happening?_

He felt like he was going to go crazy, so much was happening to her, there seemed to be so much pain in her eyes that she hid away from him. He wanted nothing more then to be there for her, to make all her pains go away, but he didn't understand.

Why was she in the hospital, _what the hell was going on with his cheery? _

He wanted to punch a wall down in frustration, he _needed_ to know. She had to be okay.

This wasn't the same girl he went out with a few months ago; _could all this be his fault?_

**A/n What's going on with Brooke? Lucas seems more confused and lost then ever, and it's starting to get to Peyton. R&R**


	15. Chapter 15

Lucas paced the waiting room, looking down the hall every once in awhile for the doctor to come out of Brooke's room.

"Oh my god Lucas, _what happened to her?_"

Lucas looked up to see Haley and Nathan step out of the elevator and quickly corner Lucas, waiting for answers. But before he could say anything, he heard the elevator door open again, and a tearful Rachel stormed out, "Where is she? What's going on with Brooke? What the hell happened?" She questioned.

No one had ever seen Rachel like that. She was always sarcastic and bitchy, and many people would never guess that Rachel could actually care for anyone else besides herself. Or that she ever cried.

He looked from face to face, not able to take their questioning eyes, he looked away.

"The doctor's still looking at her, mom's there too," He replied, with all the courage he could muster.

"Yeah but _why_ is she here Luke, what happened that made you bring her here, I don't get it," Haley burst out, "She was fine at our house, she was fine all day, nothing was wrong, what happened," She sputtered, breathing quickly.

Nathan put a hand on her back, "Haley, stop getting worked up please, it's not good for the baby, or you," He whispered.

"How can I not?" She snapped.

"She fainted," He mumbled, barely above a whisper.

Rachel frowned, _please be okay Brooke. I'll never forgive myself knowing I kept your secret, if anything happens to you, I'll never forgive myself. Please god please let her be okay._

Rachel hadn't been religious ever in her life, and nor had she ever had any special respect for god, but right now, she wanted god to help Brooke, she wanted god to help her friend, who had gone through so much. She prayed that nothing was wrong with Brooke.

At Nathan's persistence, Haley sat on a waiting chair, but she couldn't help her legs from shaking. Today after so long, Brooke had finally come back to her… had finally come back to being herself.

She had been so worried about her when she had gone a week to shut herself away from everyone and ignored all of Haley's attempts to reach out to her, but today when Brooke had finally spoken to her again; it felt like everything was back to normal.

But she was wrong. There was something wrong with Brooke. Her fainting today, and not speaking to anyone or coming to school for a whole week before that connects somehow. Haley was sure of that.

_But how?_

Lucas stared out the window; _he didn't understand what the hell was going on?_

_It all started after their break up, and a part of him couldn't help but to feel responsible. Had he really hurt Brooke that bad? She couldn't even trust any of them anymore. She didn't even tell Haley anything, had he ruined her belief in trust that badly? He even took away her best friend, the girl she could confide everything with; he had taken her from Brooke as well. _

He felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist from behind, and he felt his heartbeat quicken. For a fleeting second, he thought it was Brooke. He turned around quickly, only to be looking at Brooke's ex best friend.

Peyton hugged him tightly, "Lucas, I'm so scared." She whispered, "This isn't just a random thing; I know there's something really bad going on with her. And I'm just so sorry she couldn't come to me with it." Peyton said, her eyes watering slightly.

Lucas wrapped his arms around her, "Don't think like that, she's got to be okay, she will be," He whispered, not able to take his eyes off the door which led to Brooke.

Half an hour passed until they finally got to see her. They all heard quiet timid footsteps behind them, and turned to see Brooke walking out of her room slowly. Karen had an arm around her, and Brooke looked frightened and refused to meet anyone's eyes.

Lucas couldn't move from his spot, as he watched Nathan, Haley and Rachel close in on her, "What happened Brooke?"

"What's wrong?"

"What did they say?"

"How did it happen?"

She was bombarded with questions, and Lucas was left behind. Peyton stayed sitting on the waiting chair, looking up at Brooke nervously. Lucas was standing a few feet away from her chair, and he watched the rest of them crowd around Brooke.

She still didn't look up at anyone, nor did she speak a word. Karen on the other hand, stepped in front of Brooke, "You guys calm down. Brooke really doesn't need this right now, please kids, she just needs her rest,"

Haley looked at her incredulously, "Are you serious? You're not going to tell us what happened to Brooke! Don't you think we deserve to know what's going on?"

Rachel eyed Brooked hesitantly, wanting a chance to speak to her alone, but without making her uncomfortable.

Karen sighed, "I'm sorry,"

Brooke hugged herself tightly, tears pooling around her eyes. She looked so weak and alone, that it made something hurt inside him.

"Brooke," The name escaped his lips before he could think. Nathan, Haley and Rachel all turned to face him. His eyes stayed on her, the girl behind them all.

For the first time, she looked up. Their eyes connected, and Lucas for the first time ever felt like she was letting him in. She was letting him see her hurt, her eyes were pleading with him to take it all away. She looked like she was about to speak, about to whisper his name, but that's when her eyes left his… and traveled slightly to the left of him. Her eyes connected with the pretty blond that seemed to shrink back in her seat, and Brooke's eyes immediately closed off again.

She glanced back at Lucas and he knew it was lost. Whatever that was happening, any chance of her opening up to him was gone. Her eyes closed away from him, and diverted back to the ground as she moved closer to Karen.

Karen put her arms protectively around her, and walked past the teenagers.

"I'm going to take her home," She informed the group, her eyes teary as well, "She wants to sleep,"

Haley looked up at Nathan in confusion, "What the hell just happened?"

Nathan shrugged slightly, "I don't know, but I'm really worried about Brooke," He whispered, as he watched them leave.

_I think I know what it's about; _Rachel thinks to herself, _I need to talk to Brooke, alone. This has gone on long enough, I need answers, and I need to start giving some… to the police. _

_But I can't do that. I can't break Brooke like that. I need to find out what's going on right now, and try to convince her to give Max to the police for what he did to her._

Slowly they all emptied out of the waiting room, but Lucas stood frozen at his spot. He couldn't believe what had happened in the last hour. Brooke had fainted and was brought to the hospital. And now, she had just walked out with his mom, without any answers.

A really bad feeling wouldn't leave the pit of his stomach, _something was wrong with Brooke, that was certain, but it was much worse then he had originally thought, and that scared him._

He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Peyton looking at him, "Let's go Luke," She whispered gently.

Karen led Brooke to the bed, where she sat, her mouth open in shock.

"Karen-…" She whispered, her lower lip trembling violently as her big eyes tearfully looked up at her.

Karen tried her hardest not to cry, as she looked down at the fragile girl in front of her. Her heart broke; Brooke was looking up at her desperately, putting all her faith and trust in Karen. She looked up at Karen like a child would before going into surgery.

Karen smiled sadly at her before getting into the bed with her. They both sat in the blanket with their backs against the backboard, Karen's arm draped around Brooke's shoulders, "Brooke, I'm here for you. Trust me; everything will end up okay,"

As the words came out, Karen knew she didn't sound believable. It was hard to say anything, when she wasn't sure herself. But she had to stay strong for Brooke. If Brooke saw her crack, she will lose it completely.

Brooke shook her head, tears rolling off her cheek uncontrollably, which she wiped with the sleeve of her shirt, "Nothing will be okay, Karen-…"

"Sh, Brooke not now. Doctor said you needed rest, so baby you have to go to sleep, I don't want to see you upset, please Brooke, try to sleep," Karen demanded weakly.

Brooke nodded her head, like an obedient child, as she lay down on the bed, while Karen ran her hand soothingly through Brooke's hair. Brooke's eyes remained open, and her bottom lip quivered every once in awhile, but Karen stayed there until Brooke finally drifted off into a light slumber.

Karen then slowly lifted herself out of the bed, careful not to wake her, as she made her way to her room and sat on her bed silently. And one by one, fat tears rolled off her face and onto her lap. Karen felt a sob escape from her lips, which she quickly muffled by her sleeved arm.

She stumbled into her closet and closed the door behind as she slid down to the floor. She had to be so strong for Brooke, she had to hold back all her tears, but she couldn't do it anymore. She couldn't keep her tears away.

And the stream continued, as Karen buried her face in her hands, and sobbed silently for the girl a room down. The girl she promised everything would be okay.

When in reality, Karen knew things could never be okay…

Lucas sat in his car, looking up at the house. For some reason, he hadn't gone in yet, and just sat there parked in their driveway. He felt so numb, like there was so much going on, so many thoughts, that he didn't know what to feel anymore.

An hour ago he was scared for Brooke's life when he stood in the waiting room for her, and now that she's out, those hurt filled eyes had him scared for her again.

He didn't know what to do anymore. The more he tried to be there for her, to push for answers, the further she pushed him away. The more he tried to reach for her, the further she fell back.

_Where did the Brooke Davis he knew go? The girl he had lovingly called Cheery, she was lost and he couldn't find her. In her place she left a girl that locked everything up and was completely broken._

He saw someone walk past him, and looked up to see Rachel at his doorway. She hadn't spotted him in the car, and her arms were folded around her chest, looking slightly timid. Lucas frowned; _this might be his only chance._

Brooke turned sides for the fifth time in the last few minutes. She couldn't sleep anymore, as much as she wanted to, every time her eyes closed, she saw _him. _Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his lust filled eyes staring down at her. It took her back to the couch in Rachel's living room. She could see his fist coming for her face.

Brooke couldn't take it anymore, and sat up in bed. She hadn't realized she was breathing quickly again, she tried to slow down her racing heart beat and took a few deep breaths.

She heard a soft knock at her door, and she looked up to see Karen open the door gently and poke her head in, "Oh you're awake," She whispered surprised, "Well, you have someone here to see you, can Rachel come in?"

Brooke looked at her for a second, brushing away any lingering tears before nodding her head with a weak smile of gratitude.

Karen's head disappeared and Rachel replaced her, as she hesitantly stepped into the room, "Hey Brooke," She greeted slowly.

"Rachel, you can come sit with me," Brooke said, her voice not containing even a sprinkle of the happiness it once did.

Rachel nodded, sitting at the edge of her bed, "I miss my roommate," She whispered smiling, causing Brooke to smile back but she didn't say anything.

Rachel took a deep breath, "Brooke, I… Brooke, you know I love you so much, and everyday the guilt is eating me up. I know you're suffering, and the fact that I can't help, I can't live with it. Please allow me to help you, let me get help for you, please Brooke," She insisted quickly, jumbling all her words together, not being too good at this emotional stuff.

Brooke bit her bottom lip, "Rachel, do you know why I went to the hospital today?"

Lucas slipped into his house, looking around quickly. He could hear his mom in the kitchen, but there were no voices, so he knew Brooke and Rachel were in her room. Slowly, he walked past the kitchen quietly, making sure not to be seen by his mom and he hesitantly made his way for Brooke's room.

When he got there, he heard their faint voices. He wasn't sure if this was the right thing to do, but he had to find out, he couldn't take it anymore. He needed to know.

He saw that the door was left open a crack, _perfect;_ he slowly stepped closer to the door, careful not to make a noise, his ear pressed close to the crack.

"Lucas told us how you fainted, but that's all I know," Rachel said, shaking her head.

_Lucas waited for Brooke to speak, knowing he had walked in at the perfect time._

Brooke took another deep breath, hugging herself tightly, unsure if she was ready to tell Rachel.

"Brooke, don't ever doubt our relationship, you can trust me with your life, I swear you can," Rachel insisted sincerely, "I'm so worried about you, please let me in Brooke, we've been through too much together to drift now. Please tell me Brooke, let me in, please,"

Brooke felt tears spring to her eyes again, and slowly, they started to roll down her cheeks, before a quiet sob escaped her lips.

"Oh god Brooke," Rachel whispered sadly, moving closer to sit beside her and wrap her arms comfortingly around her best friend.

_Lucas felt an ache in his heart, wanting nothing more then to be there for Brooke as well, to wrap his arms around her and take all her problems on himself. He didn't want her to cry, ever again. It took him everything not to push open the door and take the sobbing Brooke into his arms. He knew he couldn't, if he did, she'd retrieve herself, and close up again. He had to wait, he had to resist so she could open up._

Rachel wiped the tears away from Brooke's eyes, and hugged her tightly, "Brooke please don't cry, please,"

Brooke hugged Rachel back, sobbing quietly into her shoulder. Rachel rubbed her back patiently, whispering soothing words into her ear.

"Brooke, don't do this to yourself, tell me, let me share your pain, please," She begged one last time.

Brooke nodded, sniffing as she wiped her tears away from her face.

_Lucas leaned in a tiny bit more, straining to hear Brooke's whisper._

Brooke looked up into Rachel's eyes.

"I'm pregnant,"

**A/n Uh oh. Leave me a review Leave me a review Leave me a review!! : )**

**Tell me what you think of the latest twist / difficulty in Brooke's life, as well as Brucas. **


	16. Chapter 16

"_I'm pregnant,"_

Lucas felt like someone had punched him in the stomach, as the colour drained off his face. He could hear his heart start to thump loudly against his chest, and he suddenly felt light headed. He blinked in surprised, unsure if he had heard right.

"_But w-what if it's Lucas's?" Rachel asked, with slight hope._

_Brooke shook her head, "The pregnancy isn't that far along, it's defiantly Max's," Brooke blubbered, tears streaming down her face, "Rachel I'm so scared," She cried, as Rachel hugged her, her face resting on top of Brooke's head. _

Lucas pulled away from the door, not able to take anymore. _I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant, I'm pregnant. _Brooke's two words haunted his mind, he couldn't shake them off.

He didn't even realize his mom call out to him when he walked past the kitchen; he didn't hear anything but those words… those words that changed everything. He found himself unlocking his car door, and sitting sideways in the seat, so his legs were still planted outside beside his car. He looked up in shock.

_Brooke is pregnant… Cheery is pregnant… his Brooke is pregnant._

… _And worst of all, it wasn't his._

It surprised him that he was hurt that the baby wasn't his. He loved Peyton, but Brooke having a child with another guy was like a knife to his heart.

He was so hurt, that it angered him. His hands ached to hurt Max; he wanted to break Max's head in two for being with Brooke. He literally had thoughts of cracking his skull open, which scared Lucas. He wasn't like that, he wasn't that guy.

He thought of Brooke, he thought of her face when she had walked out of the hospital room. She looked so grief stricken, so vulnerable. He wanted so much to be there for her, he wanted to hold her and kiss her tears away. He wanted to be the guy for her, the one she could trust, the one she could love again.

_I'm pregnant._

And just as quickly, his affectionate thoughts of her turned sour. He felt anger build up inside him, and resentment grow for the one girl that could make him love and hate her all at the same time.

He hated her.

He hated her for being pregnant.

He hated her for breaking up with him.

He hated her for going out with Max.

And he hated her for always pretending to be with victim. She was the one that dumped him, she was the one that told him they could never be together again, she was the one that went and got knocked up. She was the one that ruined them.

He turned in his seat, and started the car. Rage blurring his vision as he reversed the car from the driveway, he angrily drove in the one direction he could think of. He swirled out of the way as cars honked at him for his careless driving, he didn't care, and soon he parked in the driveway to another house… another girl.

He rang the bell, pressing it two three times in hurry. His jaw set in anger, not able to think of anything.

Peyton opened the door, confused to see Lucas at her doorstep at that time, "Hey-…" But before she could get anything else, he had attacked her lips, pushing himself against her.

She squealed in surprise at first, but soon deepened the kiss, stepping back as this new aggressive Lucas followed. He pushed the door closed with his foot, never breaking the kiss as he pushed her toward the stairs and they struggled their way up, their lips attached.

Peyton wasn't sure what had gotten into Lucas, but she liked it. He had been so distant recently, that she had begun to feel like they weren't even together, or that he didn't love her anymore. So it made her smile against his lips as he led them to her room.

She pulled away to catch her breath, "Lucas-…" She managed.

"Shh," He whispered, as he quickly lifted her up, causing another squeal from Peyton, and laid her down on the bed. She smiled up at him, but his eyes were different. They weren't the usual warm Lucas eyes, they were hardened and darker then she remembered.

But before she could ponder much on that he had quickly covered her body with his, and was now attacking her throat hungrily. A slow smirk spread her lips, _even though Brooke had tried so hard to get Lucas, trying to make him jealous with Max, and then moving into his house, he still came to her._

"Brooke you're going to get late for school,"

Brooke opened her eyes slowly, blinking to get accustomed to the light filled room. She propped up on her elbows, and looked at Karen through squinting eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them.

She felt like she had _just _closed her eyes. Tears were dry on her cheeks, and her eyes puffy red.

Rachel who had fallen asleep beside her covered her face with the pillow, when Karen tried to call out to her.

"I'm not going to school," Brooke half pleaded.

Karen sighed; she knew it had taken Brooke a lot of courage to go back the first time, after the incident, and now Brooke had to deal with this, "Baby, you have to go,"

Brooke shook her head stubbornly, "Please Karen, don't make me go today, please?"

Karen shook her head, sitting on the edge of the bed with a hand patting Brooke's hair down, "If you don't go today, it's going to be worse tomorrow. People are going to start making up rumors about why you didn't show up, especially if they find out about the hospital visit. I don't want you to put your life on stop because of this,"

"How can I not Karen, I'm ruined," Brooke shrugged, tears forming in her eyes again, "My life is over. I'm pregnant by my rapist,"

Karen shook her head, an arm over Brooke's shoulders, "Don't say that Brooke. You have so much to life ahead of you, yes this will _alter_ your life, but it isn't ruined, nor has it stopped," Karen insisted.

Brooke shook her head, rubbing the tears away from her eyes before they had a chance to spill, "I don't want to go to school anymore. And I don't want to be a burden on you either, maybe I should just go and live wherever my parents are, and get out of Tree Hill," Brooke whispered.

Karen gulped the lump forming in her throat, "Will your parents take care of you, Brooke?" She asked, knowing the answer.

"They'll probably make me get an abortion, if they don't disown me that is," Brooke whispered.

"Do you _want _an abortion?" Karen asked, turning to look the girl in the eyes.

Brooke looked back up at Karen, "I don't," She admitted sincerely.

Brooke took a deep breath, knowing her words were the truth, "It's not this life's fault," She started, placing her hand on her flat stomach, "Why should I not give this baby a chance at life to make my life easier." She stated simply.

Karen hugged her close, "You're too mature for your age," She whispered, a tear escaping her own eyes, but she brushed it away quickly, "Well now, get ready for school quickly, I'm not letting you leave and go to people that will not respect your decision,"

Brooke sighed, throwing the covers off her, as Karen opened the door and turned to Brooke again, "Oh and Brooke," Brooke looked up, "Don't ever think you're a burden on me," Karen said sincerely, "I love you Davis,"

Brooke smiled sadly, nodding, "I love you too, Karen," Brooke whispered to Karen, and with a sincere smile, Karen slipped past the door. Brooke turned sighing towards the sleeping Rachel, and poked her gently, "Wake up Rach, school time,"

Rachel moaned, turning her body away from Brooke. Brooke laughed, playfully shoving her. Rachel glared at her, "Ok ok, I'm getting up,"

An hour later, Brooke and Rachel stepped out of her car and walked toward school. "I hope no one asks about the hospital thing," Brooke muttered, stifling a yawn. Truth be told, she hadn't slept much the night before, and she was paying for it now.

"What are you going to say to the people that ask? Have you made a story yet?" Rachel questioned, looking side ways at Brooke.

Brooke frowned, "No, um… help me think of one Rachel," She pleaded, stopping to turn to her best friend.

"What about… um exhaustion?"

"From what?"

"I don't know, but didn't Lindsay Lohan have it once?" Rachel added thoughtfully.

Brooke paused, and made a weird face at her, _"Seriously?"_ she asked.

"Yeah she actually did-… oh,"

Brooke felt a giggle escape her lips, and she brought her arms around Rachel, "I love you, your sucha dumbass,"

She heard a cruel laugh behind her, and turned to find Lucas standing with a table full of the jocks. Right away she saw Max walk up to the table as well, and Lucas sneered at him, before turning back to look at Brooke in amusement, "Wow, I'm surprised you showed your face at school today," He stated.

She frowned at him, "What are you talking about?"

He raised a brow at her, "Oh? Being stupid are we?"

"No, just you," She sniped, before grabbing Rachel and picking up her pace to walk past the table.

"That doesn't really hurt, especially if it's coming from a_ slut_ like you," He stated coolly.

Brooke stopped in her tracks, as well did many other people within ear reach, and everyone turned to stare at the former lovers.

"What the fuck did you just call me?" Brooke asked.

"If your ears were open as much as your legs were, maybe you would've heard," Lucas claimed, and he saw the hurt flash through her eyes right away. He couldn't believe his own words, and felt like it was someone else saying them. He couldn't believe that he could say that to her, and if it had been anyone else saying this, he would've broken their face. But for some reason, he couldn't stop himself. He was so angry, so resentful, that words to hurt her as much as he was hurt kept spewing out.

"Shut the fuck up Lucas," Rachel threatened, pulling Brooke away from the table, but Brooke wouldn't bulge, she was so shocked at Lucas's cruelty and anger she didn't know what to do.

"I could shut the fuck up, but the question is, can _she_ ever shut her legs closed for longer then an hour?"

The guys behind him roared in laughter and cheers, as he dissed the almighty Brooke Davis, and he smirked at her.

Max looked at Brooke's fragile state, and even though he didn't really want to go against the guys in this and possible make himself a target, but he couldn't just watch as they called Brooke a slut, especially knowing what he had done to her because of that title.

Before he knew it, his feet were moving, and before he could stop himself he found himself position directly between Brooke and Lucas, and he didn't miss the glare that plastered on Lucas's face, "Leave her alone, what's your problem?" Max demanded.

Brooke looked to Max in surprise; she really didn't expect him to defend her. Being the coward he was, she expected him to make comments against her himself.

"Oh?" Lucas laughed cruelly, "And what the hell are you gonna do?"

"I'm not gonna do anything, but what _you_ are gonna do is leave her the fuck alone,"

"Or else?" Lucas questioned evenly, taking a step toward Max.

"C'mon Brooke, let's get out of here, you don't have to hear this shit," Rachel said, pulling Brooke, who at the best of her ability, could not keep her eyes from filling up with tears. She didn't want to cry in front of the whole school, she didn't want to let Lucas get to her.

Brooke nodded, walking away with Rachel, ignoring the looks she was receiving.

"Nice Brooke, walk away, that's what you're good at," He threw after her.

Brooke turned around angrily, and before Rachel could stop her, she stormed back, past Max, and grabbed Lucas's arm, "I need to talk to you in private,"

Lucas rolled his eyes, but let her pull him to the side of the building anyways, "What the fuck is your problem?" Brooke demanded.

Lucas pulled his arm out of her grasp in disgust, "Well, did I say anything wrong?"

Brooke opened her mouth in shock, "Are you serious? I know we're not friends or anything, but I did think you knew and respected me just a _tiny_ bit more,"

Lucas matched her glare, "Turned out, you weren't who I thought you were,"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Do you love Max?"

Brooke was a little taken back by this question, "Why does it matter to you? And as you already know, I'm not with him anymore, that means I don't," She spat.

"Sometimes, just cause you're not with someone, doesn't mean you don't love them," He muttered under his breath.

"Well I'm not in love with him,"

"Well doesn't that make you a slut then?" He said bitterly, slightly relieved by her answer.

"I seriously don't know what you're talking about, but please, from here on forth, do not ever speak to me, look at me, or at all acknowledge me, I hate you Lucas Scott, I will never forgive you for what you did to me today," She stated, with gritted teeth, before turning to walk off.

He glared at her, watching her go bitterly, "Don't walk too fast, you don't wanna hurt the baby,"

Brooke froze, praying she hadn't just heard that. She couldn't even feel her heart beat anymore, and was sure she was going to faint as she slowly turned to face him in horror.

Her horror stricken eyes looked back into his disgusted ones.

Brooke shook her head in shock, "What did you just say?"

But his eyes were set in a hard glare, and his jaw tight, "You heard me,"

"Lucas, you don't know what you're talking about," She insisted, "You-…"

"Don't you dare deny it, don't deny that _you are pregnant with Max's baby,_" He spat furiously, resentment and hurt filling his eyes.

Before Brooke could respond, she heard a shocked gasp behind them. She slowly turned to see her worst nightmare.

Max stood there, his mouth open in shock, "_You're pregnant?_"

**A/n In his hurt, Lucas turned into a bastard. : How will Max feel about this new knowledge? How will this effect Brooke's life? And **_**when **_**will Lucas find out about Brooke's rape, how will he feel, especially after his cruel accusations. Read and Review.!**


	17. Chapter 17

_No, no this couldn't be happening. _Brooke had never wanted to die so badly in her life, she prayed god would strike her dead in her tracks… or that she wakes up and it's just a bad nightmare.

But of course, nothing in Brooke's life was going right for her and she opened her eyes to see the shocked Max still standing in front of her.

"You guys make a great couple," Lucas spat harshly, "The baby will turn out _adorable_," He spat out venomously.

"Just shut up Lucas," Brooke begged, defeated, never taking her eyes off Max.

Max opened his mouth in shock, and then closed it again, unable to get any words out.

Lucas grunted angrily, before leaving Brooke there with her rapist… and the father of her baby.

Tears were now rolling off her cheeks, and she waited for him to say something. But he was speechless, and nothing left his lips. Brooke wiped her tears away, and turned to leave as well.

Brooke wrapped her arms around herself, and she broke out into a run. As soon as she neared the front, she could hear people laugh after her, and throw snide remarks toward her. Everyone stared, causing her to run faster.

"_Whore,"_

"_What a slut,"_

She got into her car, and tearfully drove away from school. But her tears were blurring her vision, and she couldn't see the road in front of her.

Brooke took a deep breath before slowing down, and stopping her car at the side of the road in front of the kids' park. Brooke's breathing quickened and she felt new tears drip from her eyes. But Brooke didn't bother keeping anything in, and a sob escaped her lips. Her head leaned against her steering wheel as she cried violently.

"H-how c-could he," She choked out, "Why d-d-did he d-do that to m-me,"

Brooke wrapped her arms around herself, not able to stop shaking. She opened her door and ran to the deserted park, taking a seat on the bench breathing deeply. _She had to calm herself down. _

_But, how could she?_

_**How am I going to get through these nine months?**_

_**How will I be able to have a baby, how will I take care of it?**_

_**I'm too young, how am I supposed to do this? **_

One thing was for sure, she couldn't put all this on Karen. She refused to burden Karen with this, Karen didn't deserve it, to have to take care of a pregnant teenager, or help care for the baby.

Brooke sobbed louder, _I'm ruined._

She buried her face in her hands and cried softly now. Her life was at crossroads, _she didn't want to abort her child, she had never been okay with abortion, _**but, **_she wasn't ready for a baby, she couldn't care for one alone. How was she supposed to do this all by herself? She was too young, she didn't have a job, and her parents would never support her with this._

A gentle hand rested on her shoulder, and Brooke jumped, startled. Max was standing behind the bench, and before Brooke could protest he walked around and took a seat beside her, staring straight across. She sighed, before turning to look straight as well.

The two sat there, not looking at each other, both lost in their own thoughts.

After a few moments, Max hesitantly reached out to her hand, causing Brooke to flinch and pull away. He looked up at her sadly, "You're scared of my touch," He whispered sadly.

She didn't respond.

"Brooke, I'm so sorry,"

She still didn't say anything, and a few more moments passed of silence, before she heard a low sniff from him.

She turned in horror to find him clutching his forehead as tears dripped from his eyes to the ground between his feet. For a while, Brooke didn't know what to do. She was so shocked by his response, it baffled her.

"Um," She started oddly, "Why are _you _crying?"

He wiped his tears, "I messed up so bad Brooke. You don't know how it's been for me knowing what I did to you. Not a day goes by where I don't regret that day, and hate my self for it." He said slowly, turning to her, "But now, now you're pregnant, not only did I… rape you, but I also got you pregnant. I'm just; I just don't know how I could've done that to you. I'm just so sorry, and I know, sorry doesn't mean anything to you, but I just…" He trailed off in frustration.

Brooke sighed, "You've ruined my life, Max," She whispered.

He nodded, biting his lip in remorse, as tears pooled around his eyes.

Brooke looked away.

"What do you plan to do with the… our baby,"

She frowned at the last part, "I plan on keeping _my _baby,"

He nodded, "Then I fully support your decision,"

She glared at him, "By _supporting _my decision, or crying and regretting it, doesn't make you the good guy, you'll always be a _rapist_," She said angrily, "You tell me you support my decision right? Well what are you going to do for _your _baby, huh? Because let me tell you, I have _no _money for this baby, my parents will disown me, and I'm completely alone. So will you drop out of school and get a job to _support _this baby? Could you do that?" She challenged angrily, "No, you couldn't because you're a coward. You're a rapist that accidentally knocked me up and are now going to cry to make yourself feel better, and leave me to raise this kid all by myself. _I'm not going to be able to finish high school, I'm going to have to get a job, and it's my life that is ruined do you understand?" _She screamed hysterically.

He shook his head, "I won't leave you alone to do this."

"Just shut the hell up," She yelled.

"I'm not going to drop out of school,"

Brooke rolled her eyes, turning away from him.

"And neither are you," He stated.

She turned back to him, "Oh and I suppose money is going to come flying from the sky for this kid,"

"My parent's are filthy rich. I'm going to rent an apartment for you to stay,"

"Yeah, because I should live alone while I'm pregnant," She muttered sarcastically.

"My apartment is going to be right beside yours, because I know you won't want me living with you,"

"No really?" she snapped, confused by his rambling.

"You're going to go to school, and so am I. But I will take you for your hospital check ups, and go out in the middle of the night if I have to, for your cravings. In the slightest discomfort, you're going to call me to help you, no matter what time it is or where I am. I deserve the trouble," He muttered. It was clear he had thought hard about this, and was now reading off his own script from memory, letting it all out there, not giving her a chance to stop him, "You're only job will be to keep yourself safe-…"

"Hard with a rapist living right beside me," She hissed, playing along with his little act.

He sighed, "I swear on my life that I will never touch you inappropriately, nor will I ever hurt you. I swear on my parent's life, I swear on the bible,"

"Don't try to give me false hope to make yourself feel better, you would never spend that much money or time on me, nor will your parents be willing to support a pregnant girl with their money, so fuck you,"

He shook his head, "I'll take care of that. You just say the word."

_She had to admit, it sounded pretty good, except for the rapist living beside her. Other then that, she was getting a home and money for her child, and someone to help take care of her baby. He deserved to take responsibility, because this was ALL his doing._

_But still, she couldn't do that. She had Karen. Why would she leave her to live with a rapist? How could she even trust Max enough? _

"Forget it, Max," Brooke snapped, before leaving him sitting there alone, "I don't need you,"

She sighed, walking away, _what had her life come to._

She finally decided to go back to Karen's house. She parked outside, taking a deep breath before slowly walking up the steps. She leaned against the door, slowly letting it fall open as she tiptoed into the hall, wanting to get to her room quickly. _She really didn't want to bump into Lucas; she couldn't bear looking at him right now. _But before she could get any further, she was interrupted by loud yelling in the kitchen a few feet away from her.

"I don't want her in this house mom!" Lucas declared angrily, oblivious to the front door opening.

"Lucas, what's wrong with you, what-…"

"I told you, she is _not _living with us, I don't care mom, she can go wherever the hell she wants, just not in my house, or my room. I'm taking back my room, and I don't want her in this house anymore."

"Lucas, you can't just-…"

"It's her or me. If you don't kick her out, I'd rather sleep on the streets then in the same house as her," He insisted.

""Lucas!" Karen scolded.

Brooke felt a sad frown wrinkle her forehead and before they could spot her, she quietly turned and went back outside. _Lucas hated her that much that he gave his mom an ultimatum? _

_Because of her, Karen and Lucas were fighting. Brooke knew that Karen was too good of a person to kick her out knowing what she knew, so in turn, Lucas would probably leave the house, which would break Karen's heart. She couldn't do that to Karen. She wouldn't._

She sighed, taking a seat on the porch steps and burying her face in her hands. _Why did everything suck in her life. The best friend she needed most in the world had stabbed her in the back twice, the boy she once loved is with her ex best friend and being the biggest asshole in the world, hell bent on making her life ever worse, she got raped and now knocked up, the once thing good in her life, Karen, she now had to leave. What if she went to Nathan and Haley's place? No she couldn't do that because Haley was pregnant and her and Nathan were already just barely making it by, she couldn't burden them as well. And the only choice she had left was… to take Max's offer. _

Brooke sighed, _fuck,_ after taking a deep breath she fished her phone out of her purse and dialled Max's number.

"Hello?"

"Max, if you were serious, I've decided to take you up on your offer,"

"Thank you, I swear you won't regret it," He insisted sincerely.

"Oh and Max, at first sign of anything I don't like, you come near me or try to touch me, I'll hand you over to the police, I swear it."

"Alright," He agreed.

"How fast can you have the place?"

"My dad has an apartment just ten minutes away, and he's willing to let you live there, and I'm getting the little condo beside you,"

"How did you get him to agree?"

"I told him the truth," he admitted.

Brooke paused for a few seconds, "Give me the directions,"

Brooke quickly noted down the directions in her phone before going back inside, but this time she was loud enough to get their attention, "Lucas, you don't worry, I'm outta here," She hissed at his glare.

"Good,"

"But Brooke, you can't go," Karen declared, "If he wants to leave, he can, you aren't going anywhere,"

"Mom-…"

"No Karen, it's okay, I don't want to live in his house anyways, or his room. I hate your son," She stated, her face set.

"What happened," Karen asked, hurt.

"_He told Max about my pregnancy, and made me look like a whore in front of the whole school,"_ Brooke informed her, taking extra precaution not to let any tears form in her eyes, "I'll never forgive him,"

Lucas didn't say anything, as Karen looked at him in shock, "Luke-…"

"Why didn't you tell me? I asked you _so _many times, you never told me," He accused.

"How did you find out? _And how could you do that to her?_" Karen asked, dangerously close to hitting her son. Lucas stared back evenly.

"Excuse me, I have to go pack," Brooke whispered, walking away from the mother son.

Karen followed her hastily, "But Brooke, you can't go. _Please don't go._" She begged, as Brooke opened the closet to take her suit case out. Karen stood in front of her, grabbing her arms, "I won't let you go,"

Brooke shook her head, "Please, Karen. Let me go. I won't do this to you, I won't burden you, _nor _will I ruin your family,"

Karen frowned, "How many times have I told you, _you are not a burden on me_," She insisted, forcing Brooke to look at her, "And Brooke, you _are _my family. I love you like I would love a daughter, I want to be here for you, and you need me,"

Brooke felt her tears betray her, as they pooled around her eyes, "Karen, I can't stay here… I just can't. I refuse to live with Lucas, and he doesn't want me here. And I refuse to let you let him leave. He's your son, I'm just his ex girlfriend that's been bunking here way too long,"

Karen's mouth opened in hurt, "You think, that I think of you as just his ex girlfriend? Don't insult our relationship like that,"

Brooke shrugged, "You're right. You've been more of a mom to me then my own. And I think through all your care, I forgot that you weren't my mom, you're Lucas's. And I hate him, and he hates me. _You don't understand._ The pain he caused me is as bad as what Max did to me. I cared for Max, and he had betrayed me, and that had hurt me as much as the rape. But Lucas," Brooke paused to wrap her arms herself, "Karen, I _loved _Lucas, and what he did to me today, he tore my heart out and stomped on it. The love we once shared means nothing to him. He betrayed me in front of the whole school, he betrayed me… once again,"

Karen nodded, tears leaving her eyes as she bit her bottom lip, "I'm so sorry,"

"It's not your fault Karen, don't be,"

"I want to be part of your life, to be there for you,"

"You will be, trust me, you will always be a part of my life,"

Brooke began throwing her clothes into her suitcase as well as some of her other belongings such as her tooth brush and hair brushes and some jewellery.

Brooke rolled her suit case out into the front hall, and Karen followed her, "But Brooke, where are you going to go?" Karen asked her concerned.

Brooke turned to look at Lucas, who was sitting at the kitchen table, staring at his fists on the table, and she could see him glance up slightly.

"I'll come back tomorrow for the rest of my things," Brooke declared, throwing his a last dirty look before giving Karen a quick hug.

"Is there any way I can get you to stay?" She asked, with lingering hope. Brooke pulled away, she shook her head slightly.

"I love you," She whispered, giving Karen a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to leave, as she reached the door, she turned one last time to give the teary Karen a last little wave, before closing the door behind her.

She opened her trunk to throw her suit case in, and when she shut it, she found Lucas standing in front of her driver's door.

"Get the _fuck _away from my car," She ordered viciously.

He didn't meet her eye, "You don't have to leave right away. You couldn't have found a place to stay that quickly, you can um… go tomorrow," He said, slightly red in the face.

"I'd rather sleep on the streets then in the same house as _you,_" She threw at him, repeating his words from earlier.

Lucas still hated Brooke, _but he couldn't just let her go off without a place to stay. What if someone hurt her, or kidnapped her?_

As betrayed and heart broken as he felt, he couldn't do that to her, he wouldn't.

She tried to push him away, but he stayed still, planted in front of her door, "I said go tomorrow," He said sternly.

"I said, _fuck off,_" She hissed, struggling a bit more, but when she realized he wasn't going to budge, she sighed, "I have a fucking place to go to, now if you don't move away from my car and my way in the next two seconds, I will call the police on harassment charges," She promised.

He stayed there for a moment longer, before he finally stepped away. And she nudged past him into her car, and hastily pulled out of the driveway. Lucas watched her go, a part of him growing sad.

Brooke Davis, _his Brooke _was pregnant with another guy. She was having a baby, which was the biggest bond you could ever have with … Max.

_How could she do that to him? … to Them? Sure they weren't together, but she knew he had loved her, she knew he had wanted to be with her. It was her that pushed him away and her that ruined their relationship. Then she got knocked up? And now they were broken up?_

_He had warned her, so many fucking times, he told her to stay away from him. But of course not, she just had to throw herself at him, to be with him. And now the damage was unfixable. _

_Why. _

_He hated her. _

Brooke angrily raced along the road, until she finally found the place. She took a deep breath as she left the engine running. _Was she really going to do this? What if it was trap, what if he wanted to hurt her?_

But for some reason, Brooke doubted it. He looked too regretful and sincere earlier, she had to see if he was serious, so she turned off the car and slowly made for the door, and her room was on the first floor, so she went and knocked on the door gently.

The door opened right away, "Hey, I'm glad you came,"

Brooke nodded, not sure why she would trust him, but let him lead her around the apartment anyways. It wasn't bad; it was small, but in a comfortable way. A nice big TV in the living room with a comfortable couch in front of it, and a small marble kitchen beside it, and there were two rooms, the doors separated by the TV. She opened the door to one room; it had light pink wall paper and a huge bed in the middle of the room with a dresser off to one side with a wall mirror in front of it. In the second room, it had plan white walls, a bed as big as the one in the other room and a window above it.

"So what do you think?" He asked nervously.

"Where are you staying?" She asked suspiciously.

"Um there's a little condo outside, so I'm gonna be staying there, but if you need anything, just like call me. There's food and stuff in the fridge, but whenever you need to go grocery shopping, or clothes shopping cause your gonna um… get… bigger," Brooke rolled her eyes, "I'll be right here,"

She didn't respond, looking over the apartment again, "I want you to know, I'm living here out of desperation because I need a place to stay, and revenge of having you spend so much money and time on me because this _is _all your fault, I don't want you to ever, even for a _second_ think I trust you, because I don't," she stated clearly.

He nodded slowly.

She nodded in agreement before taking a deep breath and looking around once more, _I hope I'm doing the right thing._

**A/n So things have changed drastically for Brooke now. How will Brooke's new home affect her life? How will Lucas feel about Brooke living beside Max? What's in store for them ALL?!**


	18. Chapter 18

"_Aw Shit," _Brooke muttered under her breath as the eggs stuck to the pan. She had been trying to make scrambled eggs but with no success. She tried to scrap the bottom of the pan, but it was no help. She sighed, before throwing the pan in the sink and resorting to plan B.

Five minutes later, she was on her couch with a bowl of microwavable 2-minute noodles and a glass of milk. Brooke turned on the TV and flipped through the channels in boredom. _Was she really going to live on 2-minute noodles for the rest of her life? _She sighed, she never had to worry about making food at Karen's, all she had to do there was give Karen company every once in awhile, while Karen cooked.

_Karen. _Brooke sighed, _It had been a month since she had moved out, and more then anyone…she missed Karen. She missed being forced awake to go to school, having someone to care about your well being. She missed having a mom._

She would never forget the day she went to pick up the rest of her stuff; the look on Karen's face when she told her where she would be staying…

"_Brooke, oh I'm so glad you're back. I think yesterday emotions were way too high, but now that everyone's cooled down, I think we can reconsider your decision to leave," She said hopefully as soon as she saw Brooke on her porch._

_Brooke sighed, as Karen let her in, "There were some clothes I didn't take yesterday that I came back for,"_

_Hurt flashed over Karen's face, "Brooke, are you really serious about this?" _

_Brooke smiled sadly, before taking Karen's hands in hers, "Please Karen, don't make this harder then it already is. You think I want to leave you? You think I want to not have someone to take care of me like you did? But I __**have**__ to go, and I think you understand why. Do you mind if I quickly just take my stuff from my… er Lucas's room," Brooke asked as she walked toward the room, her hand twisting the knob._

"_No Brooke, wait-…" Karen started, but it was too late, Brooke had already seen what Karen had tried to protect her from. _

_There, on the bed she had slept on two nights before, was her ex boyfriend and ex best friend –making out. _

_Brooke's mouth opened slightly in shock and a slight gasp escaped her lips, earning the attention of the two bodies on the bed and Peyton let out a startled scream as they turned to look at each her. Peyton parted from Lucas right away, and they both sat up quickly._

_Brooke gulped, "I-… I just need to get my stuff," She muttered, not able to look them in the eyes._

"_Brooke-…" Peyton started, almost apologetically._

"_I can come back another time," Brooke stated through clenched teeth before turning to leave._

"_No wait! I was just leaving, you can get your stuff," Peyton said, getting off the bed and walking to the side door before turning back to look at Brooke, "Brooke, I was wondering if we could talk," She asked._

"_We have nothing to talk about," Brooke stated, not looking at her._

_Peyton sighed, before turning to leave._

_Lucas threw his legs over the bed and looked at her. Karen walked into the room behind Brooke in remorse, but Brooke didn't look at either of them, as she quickly threw the closet open and started grabbing her clothes._

"_Brooke, where are you staying?" Karen asked her, and Lucas looked up as well._

_At first, she thought of not revealing her new home, but then she caught Lucas's eyes and glared, "Max got me a place," She spat._

"_What!" Lucas demanded, standing up, "You're staying with Max?" He asked hurt, but then quickly masked it, "I mean, his parents are letting you live with them?"_

"_Brooke?" Karen asked, shocked, "What?"_

"_He actually let me have a separate apartment that belonged to his dad, that's vacant," She replied to Karen._

"_Oh, how nice of Max," Lucas murmured bitterly, angry that his decision yesterday drove her toward Max._

"_But Brooke," Karen started in disapproval, "You let Max get you a place? And how can you live alone during you're pregnancy, what if-…"_

"_He's living right beside me, in a little condo right outside,"_

_Lucas grunted._

"_Ok that's it, Brooke, we need to talk," Karen stated, taking Brooke's arm and leading her to the other room, leaving the fuming Lucas behind, as she closed the door after her," Brooke?" She asked angrily, "What's going on?"_

_Brooke sighed, "I don't have much money, I don't have my own home, and if I don't take his place, then I would have to drop out of school and get a job, and still struggle to afford my own place." Brooke shrugged, "This works out. He pays for my place, he pays for the food, and he pays for the clothes. He deserves the trouble and he deserves to suffer with me."_

"_But he __**raped **__you," Karen pointed out, "You really think I would just let you live with your rapist? Are you kidding me? Lucas can go wherever he wants, I'm not letting you live with a rapist or anywhere near a rapist. __**I'll **__take care of you. You don't need him; all he deserves is to be in jail,"_

_Brooke shook her head, "Karen, I don't think he's going to hurt me again. I can see it in his eyes; he seems sincere about repenting his actions. And it's only benefiting me –and you! You need Lucas with you, he's your son! I'm going to be fine Karen, don't worry about me," Brooke insisted, hoping it sounded confident._

_Karen opened her mouth to argue but Brooke stopped her by placing a finger on her lips, "Please Karen. For once, my life is really messed up right now. And this is the only thing that I feel is right, right now. I feel satisfied that me staying there and using Max's money is his problem. This is the only thing that makes me feel better, knowing he's going to have to take responsibility of his actions. This works out for all of us, so please don't say anything, please Karen," Brooke begged._

_Karen still didn't look appeased, but she didn't say anything. Her forehead creased with worry, and she looked so torn. On one side it was her son, her blood, her everything, and on the other side was Brooke, a fragile girl that had to deal with so much shit in her life recently and needed her more then anything. _

_And Karen was stuck in between._

_Brooke wrapped her arms around Karen one last time and Karen felt a tear roll off her cheek as Brooke walked away._

The click of her door opening startled her out of her thoughts, and Brooke quickly brushed a lingering tear off her cheek and looked up to see Max entering with a few bags of grocery, and he gave her a half smile hesitantly.

Brooke watched as he made his way to her kitchen to put the stuff on the counter, "Did you bring more noodle packets?" She asked, turning on the sofa.

He shook his head, "No more of those Brooke." He stated gently, yet firmly, "You need to start eating healthy meals that will be good for you and the baby,"

Brooke frowned, getting up to stand on the other side of the counter as she watched him take out fruits and veggies from the bags, "What? You really think I'm going to be eating raw veggies-…"

"No, have boiled veggies with good meals. I researched this stuff."

"I was making eggs earlier?" Brooke offered.

Max glanced at the sink, "Good thing you weren't successful! You're not supposed to eat raw or undercooked meat, poultry _and eggs_. Only eat eggs if their cooked till their hard," he informed her, have clearly done research, "Ok from now on, I'll make your dinner," He informed her.

Brooke sat on the stool, "What are you making me tonight?" She asked with a smirk. In the past month, she had grown more comfortable to having Max around, and their relationship had turned a bit friendlier. After the first week, she had told him to stop bringing up the _incident_ if he expected her to let him around. So now, their friendship was platonic. At first Brooke was hesitant of letting him in her life and taking care of her, but gradually she had grown comfortable with letting him in her apartment and being alone with him. Of course, that didn't mean she trusted him or forgave him, she just learned to deal with him.

He brought his hand for her to put the bowl of noodles in, which he dumped in the garbage, "Tonight you're having herb roasted chicken, with a side of stir fry vegetables."

"What type of herbs?" She asked impressed.

He grinned, "It's a mixture my family's been using for generations and not to boost or anything, but it's quite fabulous," He stated.

"Do I get to know the recipe?"

He smiled proudly, "For the special mixture, I'm gonna combine minced garlic clove, rosemary, thyme and salt,"

"Uh… okay." She said unsurely.

"You go sit on the couch, put your feet up and watch TV; I'll call you when I'm done," He said, as he busied himself with taking things out, washing, cutting, etc. She frowned as she made her way to the couch, putting her legs up on the table in front of her.

"Oh and Brooke, tomorrow I'm taking you to the doctor." He said over the TV.

She turned around in surprise, "Huh?"

"We're getting you vitamins that you need for a healthy pregnancy, but I don't know what to get, so we're gonna find out. I read somewhere, that vitamins and such supplements are crucial for the baby," He informed her, as he turned on the stove.

She watched him in amazement; _he was actually serious about this… about taking care of her. _She would have never imagined that the good looking flirt she met a few months ago was actually capable of such a thing… but then again, she never thought he'd rape her either.

Brooke turned back to the screen, "I'll go by myself."

"Brooke-…"

"I'm not that far into the pregnancy that I can't even drive okay? I'm _fine,_" She sniped, a little harsher then she intended.

"I can't believe Brooke's really living with Max," Peyton murmured as she lay on her stomach, facing him on his bed. He was at his laptop, when he looked up.

"She's not living _with _him." He said, slightly strained.

Peyton rolled her eyes, "Fine, I can't believe he got her place and is living next to her," She corrected, pausing for a moment in thought, "But then again, I think it's quite… admirable that he's really taking responsibility, you know. I mean, usually in teen pregnancies, the guy rarely helps the girl through the nine months. I mean, I never took him for that type of a guy. He's a good looking guy; he gets a lot of girl attention… and most of all he always seemed like the player type to me. I'm proud of him I guess," She said slowly, oblivious to Lucas's clenched jaw, "He's a good guy. Brooke got lucky,"

"What the hell?" Lucas demanded, "How's he a good guy. He _knocked _her up!"

Peyton sat up with a raised brow, "Didn't you think you had knocked her up freshmen year?" She asked.

Lucas went red, "But I didn't. He doesn't even love her; they had broken up when he found out. The baby was a mistake,"

Peyton looked at him like he was growing another head, "Are you serious Luke? Sounds familiar, _you and Brooke were broken up_, _you didn't love her, that baby would've been a mistake, _and you cheated on her," She reminded.

He winced, "Whose side are you on anyways?" He demanded angrily.

She got off the bed, angry as well, "I didn't know there were _sides? _What are the sides huh, Max and you? And Sides for what… _for Brooke's love_?"

Lucas frowned, but wasn't able to hold her glare and looked away slightly guilty. She shook her head in disgust, "Forget it," She snapped, before storming out of his room and slamming the door behind her.

Lucas watched her go, running his hand through his hair in frustration and looked up and for the first time, noticed Karen at his door with an amused look on her face.

He glared at her, "How long have you been there,"

"Just came, but it was long enough to witness Peyton's realization,"

Lucas ignored her, "She's wrong. I don't have any feelings for Brooke," he stated, but a pained look clouded his eyes at her name.

Karen laughed bitterly, "I _knew it_. This past month you've been so resentful toward her, and an asshole to everyone around you. You don't even talk to me properly; you're ignoring Haley and Nathan, you snap at Peyton for everything, and are just a down right bastard to anyone that talks to you. And now I finally get it. You're so bitter that Brooke is pregnant by someone _else_, and that she's letting that person take care of her that you've transformed into a jerk." She accused her eyes red with fury.

He glared at her, "Why would I be bitter about her being with someone else?" He demanded… bitterly.

"You see, I just gave you an essay on what an asshole you are, and all you can think of is her being with someone else. You're delusional if you think anyone is buying this cheap act. If you were really going to pretend to not care about her, at least have made it convincing, Peyton knows, she knows that you're not over Brooke. But that poor girl is letting you drag her along as you make it clear how bothered you are about Brooke moving on. Why? Because that girl loves you, but then again, you treat people that love you the _worst_, don't you?"

Lucas winced, refusing to make eye contact with her.

"Get up,"

"What?"

"Get up. We're going to Brooke's place." Karen declared, "You're going to apologize to her for the bastard you've been to her, and though you don't deserve it, if you're lucky, she _might _forgive you."

Lucas sighed turning his face away from her. After a few moments, Karen had thought he wasn't going to respond, until; "She's not gonna forgive me," He finally whispered.

For the last month, he had gone over that day more times then he could count. He went over every word he said to her, every hateful glance he threw at her. He went over the anger on her face, the hurt in her eyes, and every tear she shed. _He had hurt Brooke so much. The awful things he had said to her, the things he had said about her, how could he have possibly been able to take all her fears of others perceptions of her, take her weakness and throw it in her face in front of everyone. Everything she wasn't, he declared she was. He knew Brooke more then anyone perhaps, yet that meant nothing as he basically threw her in front of the bus in front of everyone. He had broken her heart so many times. He had seen her broken face countless time, the face that haunted him in his sleep and always managed to clench his heart at the sight. She was the girl he never thought he'd ever love, but he had. He had loved her so much; behind the bitch she portrayed to everyone else was the most innocent girl he'd ever met. She had a heart of gold that had enough room in it for everyone. Yet he'd taken that heart and stomped on it. And when she finally moved on, he hated it. Now she was pregnant and he resented her… but why? Why had he always thought she had done it __**to him?**__ It was like she had done it on purpose to hurt him, as if she had wanted it. But why hadn't he remembered her face at the hospital, when she had found out. She had looked at him, from everyone else, her eyes had pleaded with him, and they had held that vulnerability. Why hadn't he brought that face to mind even once when he humiliated her in front of the school and then kicked her out of his house. As much as he did still resent her, he didn't really hate her… he could never really hate her. She was Brooke Davis… she was Brooke… she was Cheery. And as much as he would deny it, he loved her._

Lucas shuddered. For the last month, he had regretted and pined more then he would like to remember. He hated her; he loved her, and more then that, he missed her. He missed her beautiful smile, that had the ability to brighten the whole room and make his heart pound that much faster… he missed the dimples that came with it, the ones that made his own lips stretch into a smile… he missed her eyes, they could make him feel like the only one in the room, make him feel like the luckiest guy in the world, or make him feel like the lowest scum she'd ever seen.

She was Brooke Davis… and he was Lucas Scott; they were supposed to be together.

_But she got pregnant and he resented her._

"Lucas, you're coming with me," Karen declared, as she stormed in and grabbed his arm, "We need to be there with her for the rest of her pregnancy, it's not right to leave her alone," She insisted, taking the hesitant Lucas with her.

Lucas shook his head, "I don't think so mom. She seemed pretty close with Max," He mumbled bitterly. _Over the last month, she had slowly started to come to school with Max. Once, Lucas had even caught Max rush to Brooke's side when she was carrying a pile of books and textbooks. It made Lucas glare at Max, as Brooke threw him a smile of appreciation. Max and Brooke were being pulled back together due to the pregnancy. It was all his fault for telling Max about it. As for him, Brooke didn't even spare a glance toward him anymore. She avoided him like the plaque. It was as if he never existed. _Lucas groaned involuntarily as Karen made for the door, his arm still tightly held by her hand. As much as he wanted to pull his arm away from her and refuse to go, he didn't. He had been so curious over Brooke's new home and whereabouts that he felt himself let his mom lead him toward the car. The thought of getting to talk to Brooke again made his heart race a beat faster.

"Mmm," Brooke moaned happily, "This is the best tasting food I've tasted in a long while," She admitted, as she chewed on the chicken, her eyes closed and a smile on her lips in appreciation.

Max watched her, the body and beauty of a woman… yet the innocence of a child. He had to admit, she was one of the best looking girls he had ever seen; and a little part of him was happy that she would be the one giving birth to his child. He had to admit, he had gone into this to repent his mistake, to be punished; but he had never expected to kind of enjoy it. He had fallen completely for Brooke Davis. Before, he had fallen for her looks and charms, but over the last month, he had gotten to see even beyond that. He was able to see _Brooke_ behind Brooke Davis.

Brooke got happy over the littlest things such as good food or her favourite TV show; she wore her emotions in her eyes –if you were able to read her. And when she cried, she made you want to change heaven and earth to make that smile come back… and when the smile was back… you couldn't stop your own lips from stretching into one as well.

Brooke threw a veggie at him causing him to sit up startled, "Hello? What are you staring at?" She asked annoyed.

He smiled; shaking his head as he quickly went back to his own food, "Uh, nothing," He murmured, putting a forkful of food in his own mouth, _he had to admit it was pretty good._

Brooke put her feet up on the sofa, her knees against her chest as she laid her cheek against them and sighed, "I'm so full! That was _good_!" She admitted, "Are you a secret cook or something?" She asked.

Max laughed, "Yeah, but we'll keep that on the d.low," He whispered, like it was top secret.

"On one condition," She declared, causing Max to look up from his food again in interest, "I better get your cooking skills displayed here all the time," She threatened, mock seriously.

He pretended to worry over it causing her to laugh as she took her plate to the sink and turned on the water, "Hurry with your food, so I can quickly wash the pots before Big Brother comes on tonight,"

Max followed her, "You don't have to wash the pots, I'll do it," He offered, attempting to take the sponge from her hand, but Brooke put it behind her back.

"Stop with wanting to do everything for me," Brooke ordered in annoyance, "It's slowly getting annoying… like I am _capable _of washing the dishes, I know it seems very complicated but-…"

"Alright, _alright,_" He interrupted grabbing the dry cloth, "You wash, and I'll dry," He insisted as Brooke turned back to her sink, making room for Max to stand by the other one.

They worked in comfortable silence, which surprised Brooke… _how could she feel __**comfortable **__with __**Max**__? _But recently, without even noticing it she had been more and more lenient with Max. The amount of time he spent over, how close he was to her, and how he had slowly wormed his way into a friendly relationship with her; not at all what she had wanted or expected coming into this apartment.

"What're you thinking about?" He asked her, when he had dried the last plate.

She turned to him with a frown, flicking the soapy sponge at him, "None of your business," She responded, but it came across more jokingly then she intended.

He frowned, with a cloud of soap bubbles on his cheek, "Brooke-…" He groaned, but was interrupted when Brooke broke out laughing and wiped the sponge on his nose.

"Oh that's it," Max chuckled, reaching out to grab the sponge from her but Brooke quickly hid it behind her back, with a mocking grin at her lips.

Max laughed, and before they knew it; Max had Brooke in his arms reaching for the sponge behind her back and Brooke was laughing more then she had in awhile as they fought over the sponge, both of them being flicked with the soap bubbles all the while.

It wasn't until they heard someone clearing their throat that they stopped laughing, and both of them, covered in soapy bubbles with both their hands clutching the sponge looked up towards the front door.

Karen stood there, her mouth open in surprise and beside her… stood a glaring Lucas Scott.

**A/n very sorry for the long delay, but real life took over for this first month of summer.! But I'm back and hopefully will be getting you guys' updates PRONTO! **

**But this chapter **_**did **_**take a while to write and fix up. I hope you guys appreciate this chapter and please do leave a review on it, so I can feel the love and concentrate completely on this story.! Lol … please? : ) and once again REALLY sorry.!**


	19. Chapter 19

"It's unlocked," Karen muttered, as she turned the knob in surprise before letting it fall open slowly. Karen hesitantly walked in and as Lucas was about to follow, he saw his mom freeze in front of him. Lucas frowned, as he followed her and walked to stand beside her, he nudged his mom slightly before following her gaze and the familiar light bubbly laugh filled his ears just as his eyes landed on _them._

Brooke was squirming in Max's arms, as they fought over the sponge. Both of them covered with bits of soapy bubbles as the continued their playful banter. His eyes turned hard and his hand clenched into a fist at his side, before he cleared his throat loudly.

Both of them turned right away, Max's arms still wrapped around Brooke and both their hands clutching the sponge. Lucas glared at them, as Brooke slowly pulled away from Max and took a step toward them, "Karen," She began.

But he couldn't hear the rest, because before he knew it, he had turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind him. This wasn't what he expected to walk into; he had wanted to see Brooke…alone, _not _in the arms of Max. He didn't know why, but his heart was pounding quickly and he found himself cursing under his breath. _It shouldn't hurt so much, it shouldn't. Why is he so mad, why does this hurt __**so **__much? Why did the sight of Brooke and Max make him want to hurt Max so much? He wanted nothing more then to wipe the floor clean with Max. _

_**It's because he still loved her.**_

_He didn't want to see her with anyone else, because __**he **__wanted to be the one with her. He wanted to be the one she stayed with, the one to take care of her… to be the father of her child. _

_**It was supposed to be him.**_

Brooke flinched as the door slammed shut and felt a squeeze at her heart at the blonde's angry eyes, before taking another step toward Karen, who stood their frozen, "Max I think you should leave," Brooke whispered.

Max was confused by the situation, _why was Karen so upset? _But nodded and slowly walked past the shocked Karen and exited the apartment room.

"What was _that?_" Karen demanded in disbelief.

"What's was what?" Brooke asked, embarrassed.

"Brooke," Karen threatened sternly.

Brooke sighed, "It was nothing we were just washing the pots when-…"

"Why was _he _helping you, Brooke?"

"Well we had just eaten dinner, and I had to watch Big Brother-…" But Brooke trailed off having caught the slip too late. Brooke cursed herself mentally, and prayed Karen hadn't caught that.

"You guys had _dinner together?_" Karen's eyes widened, "Brooke, are you kidding me?"

Brooke smiled weakly before taking Karen's hand and leading her to the couch, "I know it sounds a little weird,"

"Brooke, he _raped _you," Karen said exasperated, causing Brooke to flinch slightly, "I know you're an amazing girl that has a huge heart, but _that_, that is just stupid."

Brooke sighed, "Karen-…"

"No, I didn't find it right for you to move here in the first place, but you insisted it was the best way to punish Max in your eyes, and that he deserved it. But excuse me if I'm wrong, that didn't look like he was being punished or regretting anything,"

Brooke nodded, not sure of how to explain. She hadn't really realized herself just _how_ comfortable and friendly she was with Max, she hadn't seen it coming herself, and now didn't know if there was a way to defend it. Because everything Karen was telling her, she understood. _So why was he there that night, having dinner with her, washing dishes with her, creating the scene that Karen walked in on? _When she thought about it, it didn't sound right. But yet, she found herself defending him.

"Things have changed Karen," Brooke whispered, "It's different."

Karen looked at her like she'd grown another head, "What's different? Has the fact that he raped you _changed?_ Has the fact that because of this, you're pregnant and are going to have a baby well before you're ready for it _changed?_ What's changed, what's different?" Karen challenged. _How could have things gotten so bad, that Brooke's had to make a friendly relationship with her rapist?_

Brooke sighed sadly, "I didn't mean for this to happen,"

Karen nodded, her fingers gently brushing over Brooke's miserable face, and oddly it helped Brooke feel a little better, "I know sweetheart but I will never forgive him for what he did to you, for what he took from you those months. You were so broken and miserable, that he doesn't even deserve a glance from you unless it's full of hatred. He's the worst type of person, that when you didn't want to be with him he forced himself on you. Who's to say he won't do it again? Who's to say that if he ever wants anything from you, and you refuse, he won't beat you again? I saw those bruises, and I'll _never ever_ forgive him." Karen whispered, "And I won't let you,"

A few tears slipped Brooke's eyes as they rolled off her cheek quickly, "I know Karen, I know. I shouldn't even allow him in the same breathing space as me after what he did, I shouldn't feel comfortable even when he looks at me, or touches me even in the _slightest._ But the weirdest part is, you're right, he broke me, he broke the person I was and left just the shell of her. And though he broke me, oddly it feels like he's the one who's picking up the pieces now… he's putting me back together." Brooke whispered, wrapping her arms around herself.

Karen couldn't help the tears that pooled around her eyes at the vulnerable girl in front of her. But a part of her –a part she hated, knew that Brooke was right. This Brooke in front of her didn't look so lost and fragile anymore, she didn't look so broken. Brooke had changed for the better, she was different. And the laughing Brooke she had walked in on earlier was a Brooke she had longed to see for ages now. Her _real _dimples, her _real_ laugh.

And as much as Karen wanted to shake Brooke and force her to come home with her, make her swear not to talk to Max… she couldn't do it. She wasn't sure why, but it felt like this was good for her. This was helping her heal and deal with her current situation. She couldn't take this healing Brooke and put her back in the place where she felt so hopeless and low, she couldn't take Brooke and let her crumble again.

_Please god let this be the right thing._

"Brooke, do you _really_ believe he's different now?" Karen asked helplessly.

"He made me dinner, researched what's good for me, and wants to take me to the doctor tomorrow to get me vitamins, I think their might be a slight change," Brooke cracked a wry smile, "But believe me when I say, I will never forget what's happened and will make sure I well avoid a situation like that. But I do believe he won't hurt me because I'm carrying his child, and he seems very protective of him or her. I believe he does love this baby," Brooke whispered, her hand instinctively going to the barely there bump on her stomach, "He wouldn't hurt me,"

Karen nodded, sceptically, "I hope to god you're right,"

She sighed, her eyes locked with Brooke's, hoping she'd cave and decided to come back with her, but she knew it wouldn't happen, and after a few moments sighed and brought Brooke into a hug.

Lucas walked out into the rain, his brows furrowed, not able to take the bubbly laugh out of his head. It was ringing in his ears, as if mocking him.

_Oh god, he missed that laugh… he missed her so much._

He was at the River Court when he finally slowed down and sat on the picnic bench, he hadn't realized how bad the rain had gotten, and it was now pouring down on him with so much force that he threw the hood of his sweater over his head. Even the rain reminded him of Brooke, he remembered the day he had followed her in the storm when she had caught the line from Peyton's letter in the letter he had written to her.

"_**Just tell me, why me this time, why not Peyton?"**_

_**  
"I can't say anything bad about Peyton. She's my friend and she's your best friend."**_

_**  
"It's okay you can say bad things about her"  
**_

"_**Oh Brooke, the truth is, I care about Peyton."  
**_

"_**Then what's the difference?"  
**_

"_**The difference, the difference is I love you, Brooke. I want to be with you, not Peyton."**_

_**  
"But why? I need to know why."  
**_

"_**Because you kink your eyebrow when you try to be cute, because you quote Camus even though I've never actually seen you read, and because you miss your parents but you'll never, ever admit that. And because, I've given exactly two of these embarrassing speeches in my entire life, and they've both been with you. I mean, it's-- gotta mean something right? And because we're both going to get pneumonia, but if you need to hear why I love you, I can go on all night."**_

Lucas shut his eyes tightly in frustration, _everything he had said that night had been true, had been exactly how he had felt, then why did he let himself get pulled back to Peyton? It's true he cared about her, but he knew, he'd known that night in the storm, that he loved only Brooke. And here they are now, he's with Peyton, and she's having Max's baby._

How badly Lucas wished he could just go back to that night, and just fix everything; not let Brooke break up with him, fight for her, and not get pulled back to Peyton. Then Brooke wouldn't have been with Max, and right now, **they **would be together, and Brooke wouldn't be having Max's baby.

Lucas buried his face in his hands, _fuck. _

And under the pouring rain, soaking wet and probably going to be really sick, he couldn't get up… he couldn't stop thinking about _her._

"_**Not exactly that, I just, I want to know everything about you. And I want you to know...almost everything about me."  
**_

"_**What's going on Brooke?"  
**_

"_**Nothing. I just. I want to know you better Luke. So how about, the next time you do something you love, you bring me along, and then we trade. Are you busy after practice tomorrow?"  
**_

"_**Yeah, I have a date with you."**_

_I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house  
That don't bother me  
I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out  
I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while  
Even though going on with you gone still upsets me  
There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok  
But that's not what gets me_

_**"You're the first great guy I've dated and that really scares me because I never gave a rat's ass before"**_

_**"I give a rat's ass about you too."  
**_

_What hurts the most  
Was being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away  
_

"_**I don't want you anymore Lucas," **_

"_**Brooke, I know you still love me, and I love you too."**_

"_**I thought I did, but what's love without trust? And Lucas, one thing is for sure, I cannot trust you at all,"**_

_And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was tryin' to do_

"_**Brooke, why are you pushing me away, I want to be here for you, I want to help you."**_

"_**You can't. You don't have the right to be here for me. I don't want you,"**_

"_**I know what you're trying. You think by saying shit that hurts me will make me go away. I'm not going to go away Brooke."**_

"_**Please Lucas, leave,"**_

_It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go  
But I'm doin' It  
It's hard to force that smile when I see our old friends and I'm alone  
Still Harder  
Getting up, getting dressed, livin' with this regret  
But I know if I could do it over  
I would trade give away all the words that I saved in my heart  
That I left unspoken_

"_**It shouldn't be like this, Luke."**_

"_**Brooke-…"**_

"_**I'm sorry… I can't do this anymore"**_

_**See but there had to be something right? Something that no one had ever said in the history of the world--something that could change this, "Brooke?"**_

"…_**I'm sorry,"**_

"_**Yeah, me, too" **_

_**That wasn't it.**_

_What hurts the most  
Is being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away_

"_**Is there any chance we can still be together?"**_

"_**No Chance in Hell,"**_

_And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was trying to do_

"_**But one of these nights you're gonna realise it -I'm the guy for you, Brooke Davis… you'll see,"**_

_What hurts the most  
Is being so close  
And having so much to say  
And watching you walk away  
_

"_**What the hell do you think you're doing?" **_

"_**I should ask you the same thing you psychopath," **_

"_**Listen Brooke, I know you're mad at me, but I see what you're doing, and please don't get involved with Max just to get at me. I really have a bad feeling about the guy, and I don't want you be with someone like him,"**_

"_**So I should be with someone like you? Should I be with someone that will want my best friend?"**_

_And never knowing  
What could have been  
And not seeing that loving you  
Is what I was trying to do_

"_**I'm sorry; you could go if you want Luke,"**_

"_**There is no other place I'd rather be, then here with you Brooke,"**_

_Not seeing that loving you  
That's what I was trying to do… _

Lucas stumbled off the bench, _he couldn't do it anymore, he __**had **__to see her…_

Brooke closed the door as Karen left and sighed. _It was so hard to explain how she felt to her, because she wasn't completely sure of it herself. She knew Karen was right, yet she also knew Karen was wrong, and she didn't know how that worked. _Brooke groaned, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she pressed the _off_ button on the remote before tossing it on the couch and making her way toward the sink.

She grabbed a glass and poured herself water and trailed to her room, rubbing her temple lightly. _Ugh, good thing it was a Friday, she could sleep in tomorrow –not that she didn't on school days, but she had Max pestering her to get up. Now she could just relax, that's what she needed._

Brooke put the glass of water on her side table before taking a seat on the edge, pulling the hair tie out of her hair and throwing her legs carefully over the bed to lie down. Brooke rested her hand on her stomach, breathing slowly. _There's a life inside me. _Brooke was so awed by the reality of the situation, that when she wasn't worrying about the obstacles this baby would bring to her life, she actually found herself slowly growing fonder of it. _I wonder if it's gonna be a boy or a girl, if it's a girl I'll have so much fun dressing her up and making her look all pretty, but if it's a boy, then I'll just have to try and design some cool boy clothes for him, clothes that everyone would envy. He'd be the cool guy that has a hot mom and cool clothes. _Brooke smiled, shaking her head at her thoughts, little by little; she was slowly turning back to her normal self, without even realizing it.

_The old Brooke… _Brooke sighed, the one that loved Lucas Scott. Brooke couldn't help but feel another squeeze at her heart, it hurt that he turned his back on her, it hurt that he betrayed her in more ways then she thought possible. First with Peyton, and then by what he did in front of the whole school… yet her heart still hurt at the sight of him.

_Don't think about him. _She scolded herself, shutting her eyes tight, trying to remove him from her thoughts completely, and attempting to force herself into sleep. It had almost worked, and a couple of minutes later she was almost drifting off when she heard her window open. Brooke's eyes opened startled, and she could see a figure in her room but it was too dark to make out who it was, Brooke sat up and opened her mouth to let out a scream when she suddenly felt a hand clamp over her mouth, "Sh, it's me," He whispered, leaning in close.

The moonlight outside provided just enough light so that when his face was so close, she could actually make out his features, but then again, she didn't need to see him to recognize him, she could place that voice anywhere, but it didn't help calm her down, "Lucas!" She yelled, shoving him away from her.

Lucas sat back on her bed unfazed, and Brooke turned to switch on the lamp, but Lucas stopped her by covering her little hand in his bigger one, "Brooke, don't turn on the light,"

"Why?" Brooke demanded, her heart pounding hard in her chest. _Was this really happening? _It had been so long since she had made any sort of contact with Lucas that seeing him on her bed all of a sudden caused her to doubt her eyes.

"Because what I want to say, I might not be able to if I have to face you. I can't look you in the eyes with what I've done," He murmured hesitantly.

Brooke frowned, but couldn't find herself to pull her hand away from his, "What are you doing here?" She demanded, hoping her voice came out fiercer then she felt.

"I… uh, I couldn't stop thinking about you," He admitted.

"Lucas-…" She began. _Why's he doing this now?_

"No wait please, I know you don't want me here, and I know you hate me but please let me say how I feel before I stop myself. I need for you to know before my ego can stop me, please Brooke," He begged and when she opened her mouth to protest he silenced her by a finger to her lips, "Let me finish, and then I'll leave if you want me to, I promise… please Brooke,"

_Tell him to leave, threaten to call the police. You don't have to listen to him, he doesn't deserve to talk to you, kick him out!_

"I don't know why you came here, I thought you hated me?" She spat bitterly.

Lucas shook his head, "I thought so too, but I could never hate you. I was just hurt Brooke, that I directed that as anger toward you… but I could _never _hate you Brooke Davis," He whispered sincerely.

Brooke bit her bottom lip, _why was he saying all this, why did he come back into her life when she was finally healing, and why the hell wasn't she kicking him out?_

Brooke huffed annoyed, "You don't deserve it after what an asshole you've been, and don't think this means I forgive you, but talk,"

Lucas sighed in relief, "Thanks Brooke." He started and Brooke moved a few inches back to put even more space in between them as if to tell him that she still hated him for what he did, causing Lucas to look down at his hands, "I know I've been an asshole, I know what I've done is unforgivable, I know that. But I need for you to know how I feel. At first, you had started acting so weird and looked so fragile that I was scared, I didn't know what had happened to you but I knew something was wrong-…"

"It was none of your business Lucas," Brooke interrupted, not wanting to think back to that time.

Lucas ignored her and went on, determined to get his feelings out, "No one would tell me, but I was frightened that something really bad had happened to you, and the fact that you didn't want to tell me, hurt me so bad. At that point, I was delusional, I thought that I had moved on, but when I saw you with Max, I was heartbroken. But I promise you Brooke, I really didn't think he was right for you. I could just tell from the way he looked at you, like you were some piece of meat that he wanted, and it pissed me off. But I won't deny it, I was jealous, as much as I didn't admit it to myself at the time, I was so jealous that he got to be with you when you had pushed me away." He whispered miserably, "And then, something happened to you, your eyes were so dull that it scared me, and I had to find out; so when Rachel came that day to talk to you, I knew it was the best opportunity to find out what it was that was wrong. And I did, I heard you tell her you were… pregnant," Lucas paused momentarily, still wincing at the memory, "And Brooke, I had felt so betrayed." He admitted sadly.

"Lucas, if you heard me tell her, then you would've heard the fear in my words, my sobs, how could you have thought…" Brooke trailed off, looking away disgusted.

Lucas nodded, "I don't know what had happened to me Brooke. It was as if I wasn't myself anymore, those words had driven me crazy with agony. I was so heartbroken and angry at you, I had hated you for being pregnant. And for some reason, I had felt like you had done it to _me_, as if it had been done to get back at me… to hurt me. And it did, I felt like I had lost you, and you had done it on purpose." He whispered bitterly, but then his tone softened, "But Brooke, I hadn't thought of your heartbroken face the day at the hospital, I don't know how that had slipped me, or how I had ignored the sobs as you had confessed to Rachel, I don't know Brooke… I was so wrong. I was so wrong for what I did that day, and I don't know what had gotten into me, but I was so hurt that the only way to feel slightly better was to hurt you as bad as I could, so you could feel at least half the hurt I was feeling. It was as if someone had ripped my heart out and stepped on it, I felt so numb in anger and agony that nothing went through my head but pain and causing pain." He admitted in disgust with himself, "I will forever regret those words Brooke, because I know that if anyone else had said them to you, I would have broken their jaw so they could never speak again. And I know, that _that _was the day I cost myself the love of my life," He whispered.

"What?" Brooke asked, in disbelief, "What did you just say?"

Lucas looked up to meet her eyes, "The love of my life Brooke,"

"No," She whispered, "No don't say that,"

"I don't care that the father of your baby is someone else, Iwill love the baby regardless, and this baby will mean the world to me… because it's _yours_, Brooke."

Brooke shook her head, "Luke-…"

"Because the truth is, I _love you, Brooke. _I've _always _loved you," He insisted, his hand cupping her chin to make her look up at him.

_This wasn't happening. He hadn't just confessed to still be in love with her, he couldn't have. She couldn't accept that, then __**why **__was her heart doing flip flops? Why did she feel tears pool around her eyes, but not of anger or sorrow? Why did she find herself leaning into his touch?_

When she didn't pull away, Lucas wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, so she was pressed against his hard chest. For the first time, she realized he was soaking wet, and the water had now soaked to her clothes as well, but she couldn't find herself to care. She hated herself for how she felt; _it felt so good to be in his arms again. She had felt so alone and vulnerable for the last few months that being in his arms caused her to sob out in happiness, _"Luke, please say it again." She whispered in agony, her arms lifting from her sides to warp around his back. _She wanted to hear him say it again, she needed to hear it again._

He pulled away from her, looking into her eyes, "I could say it a billion times over, Brooke. I love you so much," He whispered, "And I'm so sorry I've hurt you, and I know I don't deserve you-…"

Brooke smiled sadly leaning in to peck his cheek softly.

He smiled at her, "You alone hold my heart… pretty girl," He whispered sincerely.

Brooke melted; "I love you too Luke, I love you so much," She confessed as he leaned down to capture her lips. _She hadn't realized how much she had needed him in her life, how empty her life had been without him. _She met his lips as if fulfilling a craving, it felt so good to feel his lips against hers again that she moaned in pleasure as he deepened the kiss and pulled her closer so that there was no room in between them. His tongue was in her mouth the second her lips parted and she found herself urgently kissing back. _It had been way too long; she hadn't known how badly she had missed him. _She leaned back and Lucas covered her on the bed, both of them pulling at each other, trying to get as close as humanly possible, their hands roaming each others bodies.

But suddenly Brooke's mind kicked back into gear.

"_I'm happy with my girlfriend and I don't know why I wasted my time trying to help you out."_

"_That doesn't really hurt, especially if it's coming from a__ slut__ like you,"_

"_If your ears were open as much as your legs were, maybe you would've heard,"_

"You don't love me," Brooke whispered, pulling away from him and sitting up, causing him to get off her.

"No Brooke," Lucas insisted desperately, "I _do _love you; I really and honestly do with all my heart,"

"No, if you loved me, you wouldn't have hurt me so bad," She whispered, suddenly all emotion draining from her.

Lucas sighed, "Brooke, I didn't mean-…"

"And you're with Peyton," Brooke threw at him bitterly.

"I don't want to be with her-…"

"_It doesn't matter Lucas._ Because you don't really love me, and I don't love you either," She stated, "If you loved me, you _wouldn't_ have said those things to me, you _wouldn't _have gotten with Peyton and you _wouldn't_ have given Karen that ultimatum," Brooke declared, "You _don't _love me," She spat angrily.

Lucas ran his hand through his hair helplessly, "Brooke I-…"

"I want you to leave,"

"But Brooke-…"

"You promised you'd leave,"

"Brooke please just let me-…"

"Don't make me call the police Lucas, get the fuck out,"

Lucas hung his head, defeated. He stood up and backed up to the window, he looked back at Brooke one last time, but she refused to meet his eye, and so he turned and climbed out.

**A/n I love the awesome review from everyone, honestly, they make so happy : ) and though it may not feel like it, but because of the awesome reviews, this story has totally been put on the TOP burner! (L) Thank you **_**so **_**much to all that reviewed; ****princetongirl****, ****ng.x0****, ****othfan326****, craziedaisy, ****brucasendgame****, ****AmbroCoo****, ****sophiannabella****, beck, ****prettyadorable****, ****NYGIRL09****, ****oth rox****, ****onetreehillgirl066****, ****brookenlucas4eva03****, ****toddntan****; ****really means a lot, and please continue to write you views and suggestions and comments and anything about the story. Read and Review! Love y'all ;) **


	20. Chapter 20

It had been exactly two weeks and four days since the day Lucas had confessed his feelings to Brooke. But Brooke had acted like that day had never happened, and continued to pretend like he didn't exist.

Everything had remained the same, except for his denial. Lucas no longer bothered to pretend he hated her, to himself at least. He knew, Brooke, pregnant and all was the girl he loved.

Her ignoring him was driving him insane. He couldn't handle it; he couldn't handle seeing Brooke with Max everyday knowing that they basically lived together. It was unbearable, the thought of his pretty girl with any other guy made him want to hit something.

"Fuck," He muttered under his breath in frustration.

"What's wrong?"

Lucas turned startled to find Peyton throwing her books into the backseat of his car before getting in beside him.

"Nothing Peyton," he murmured, starting the car. Peyton waited for a moment, but when he didn't offer anything else, she sighed leaning back against the seat.

Lucas glanced at her guiltily; _he didn't even know why she still put up with him? _For the last two weeks and four days, his relationship with Peyton had only downgraded even more. He didn't even bother to make up excuses for himself anymore and just brushed the topic away. He felt horrible, every time the look of hurt would cross her face he would want to be better for her, but he couldn't. Even _he_ didn't want to put up with himself, so he couldn't imagine what kept Peyton from cutting ties with him. But he was glad she stayed, because without her to stable him, to calm him, to _distract _him, he was sure he would go crazy.

He knew it was selfish, to want Peyton for his own reasons that had nothing to do with undying love for her, but at that point, they both knew they were in a sinking relationship that didn't even do justice to friendship most of the time, yet she stayed…

And he knew; it was because she loved him.

He wanted to love her the same. And he did love her, but he didn't love her the way she loved him, he didn't love Peyton the way he loved _her._

"I'm sorry," He whispered, turning to her when he parked his car at the schools parking lot. _Sorry I can't be a better boyfriend, sorry I can't tell you what I'm thinking or feeling most of the time, and sorry I don't love you._

She looked back at him, with a small smile that held not even an ounce of happiness, "But not sorry enough,"

And with that, she grabbed her things and walked away, leaving him watching after her. He looked away with a sad sigh and that's when he caught another car parking a few spots away.

"Max, your parking sucks!" She complained.

"Why does it matter, I'm still in between the lines."

"Nuh uh, my side you can't even _see _the line,"

"Because we're on top of it –which counts,"

"Very soon, I won't be able to fit in the little room you leave me between the cars," She groaned, causing Max to chuckle.

Lucas's glare hardened when he saw Max get out and jog around the car to get to her side and open the door for her, offering her his hand.

"Very soon, I'll start fixing my parking to accommodate you,"

"I'm not that big yet, I _can _get up myself," She huffed, annoyed.

He laughed, "I'm just trying to get use to it,"

_Use to it my ass; asshole just wants to score points with Brooke._

Brooke got up, muttering something under her breath.

Lucas sighed, as they started to walk toward the school, and when they were right in front of his car he held his breath, but when she didn't even spare a glace toward his car he let out his breath and was about to look away when he saw it. A really fast car had entered the parking lot, and he turned to look at Brooke, who hadn't noticed. His eyes widened when he realized that the car would take a sharp turn at the corner, where Brooke was. Lucas paused for a millisecond, but the driver was reckless, and the car was hardly in control.

Before Lucas knew it, he was out of his car and running toward the oblivious Brooke and Max. Max was next to the cars, while Brooke was on the road side and perfectly in the speeding cars way.

"BROOKE!" Lucas yelled, when the car took the turn, and in the split second glance he realized the driver was as surprised as Brooke, and wouldn't be able to control the car fast enough.

_No! Nothing could happen to Brooke, nothing could hurt his pretty girl… he wouldn't let it._

Lucas's heart sank and after that, it was like everything happened in slow motion.

Lucas had crossed to Brooke; his arms had encircled her waist so that his hands were pressed firmly into her back, and just before the car would've smashed into her, he pulled her toward him, slightly cradling her in his arms as he turned them so that she was as far away from the car as possible, and his back was toward them. The car sped past the spot Brooke had been standing moments earlier before going to crash into a parked car a few feet away.

Brooke felt the wind knock out of her when she went crashing against a hard chest, a pair of strong arms securely around her. _This feels too familiar. _She saw the car go flying past her, so close that she could feel the wind against her and her eyes widened. Her arms instinctively wrapped around her stomach protectively.

"Are you okay?" A familiar voice asked her.

That's when Brooke finally looked up, her eyes leaving the hard chest, to the neck, and then finally up to the face and she found herself staring into an all too familiar pair of blue eyes. Her heart clenched like it always did around him, and her hands went to his chest to put some room between them.

Lucas's arms dropped from her and he stepped back, "Brooke, I'm sorry, are you okay?" He asked, his brows furrowed in concern and fear.

"Brooke, are you in any pain?" Max asked her, suddenly appearing from the left, but Brooke couldn't look at him because her eyes wouldn't budge from the guy in front of her.

"I'm fine," She finally whispered.

Lucas nodded satisfied, "Good," He stated, before turning away from her and Brooke could see his jaw clench at the sight of the crashed car, as two guys stumbled out dizzily.

Lucas walked toward them, anger building up in him with every step.

"What the fuck was that?" Lucas demanded; his eyes red in rage. He couldn't think of anything else, but causing pain to the guys in front of him.

"Sorry, we weren't trying to hurt her, we were just too fast, and we didn't see her," The one that got out of the passengers seat apologized, slightly frightened.

"Are you fucking kidding me, you guys were driving like maniacs and you think that sorry is gonna cut it? You almost fucking ran her over, and you think _we didn't see her, _makes it fucking okay?" He asked in disgust, his hands in tight fists as he continued to walk over to them.

"We didn't-…"

"We didn't what huh? Didn't mean to? Are you_ really fucking kidding me_, you really think you can drive around like that and its okay, huh? Do you even have your fucking license, you guys are fucking idiots, who would give you the permit to drive around on roads," He challenged, so angry that the guy actually took a step back even before Lucas neared them.

"Well, what's the worse that could've happened?" The driver asked, "Isn't she that pregnant whore? Maybe she would've lost the bastard kid, and that way she could go back to being the whore of Tree Hill; the rest of us are losing our source of entertainment. I mean, she's the girl whose drink to slip things into at party's, though she didn't really need anything in her drink to end up in a room with someone," He laughed, nudging the guy beside him, but he didn't have time to look up, because before he knew it, a fist had connected hard against his left eye. He fell side ways, "What the fuck-…"

"You did _not _just fucking say that to me," Lucas threatened, his hand grasping the hair on the guys head and he pulled him back so his whole face was suddenly pulled up to look at him and he yelled out in pain, trying to push Lucas away, "You fucking bastard, how the fuck _dare you_ talk about Brooke like that!"

"Lucas stop!" Brooke yelled, who had been watching in horror from her spot, had finally broken her _no-Lucas-acknowledgment _rule, realizing how violent this was getting._ Lucas could get expelled for this, or worse yet, go to jail. And that guy was going to get seriously hurt if Lucas continued pulling his head so brutally._

"Brooke!" Max warned, coming after her, as she desperately reached Lucas and tried to talk him out of it.

"Lucas, leave him alone, I'm fine, please stop!" She begged, having never seen Lucas this mad. Lucas was never one to get violent, he was calm and collected, and rarely got too angry. But right now, the anger in him was causing her to tremble slightly.

The passenger guy was standing there, looking torn between not getting Lucas's attention and anger, and saving his friend.

Lucas ignored her, "Try saying that again asshole,"

"Let go of him," The friend finally said, hesitantly, about to grab Lucas, but he was too late, Lucas had made a fist with his other hand and before the guy could touch him, the side of Lucas's clenched fist connected with his mouth, causing him to stumble back, all the while Lucas's other hand still grabbed the drivers hair.

"Lucas, STOP!" Brooke screamed, but Max had a hold on her so she couldn't get close too the violence, "I mean it, please _stop!_" She begged, horrified.

"You're gonna pay for this asshole," The guy in his grip threatened, his hand at his burning scalp, "Get the fuck off me or you'll regret-…"

But before he could finish, Lucas interrupted, "Regret this asshole," He said, before pushing the guys head into the trunk of the crashed car, so hard that a crack could be heard as the guy yelled out in utmost pain, and Lucas just pulled him up ready to repeat the action.

"LUCAS!"

Lucas turned glaring, to find Nathan and Haley running toward them from their car, "What the _fuck_, Lucas!" He yelled, grabbing a hold of Lucas before he could slam the bleeding face into the table again.

"Let _GO_ of me!" Lucas yelled, trying to push away from his half brother.

Haley made her way to Brooke, taking the teary Brooke from Max's arms and into her own.

"What the hell's gotten into you?" Nathan demanded, as Lucas watched the bleeding guy's friend pull him away from Lucas and they quickly got back into the crashed car, reversing out of the parking lot.

"That guy, that _fucking bastard, _almost ran Brooke over! Could you fucking believe him?" He yelled, pulling away from Nathan finally, "If I ever get my hands on him again, I'll fucking-…"

"Lucas, _calm down_!" Nathan instructed, "Let's get out of here, if anyone sees you in this madman state, you're gonna get expelled dude, let's _go!_"

With that, Nathan shot an apologetic look toward Haley before half pulling Lucas toward his car.

"What the hell's going on here?" Haley asked, watching after them, "I've never seen Lucas like that, it's scary," She muttered.

Brooke wrapped her arms around herself, "I know," She whispered. _Lucas had beaten that guy so brutally. He was so mad; she had never seen anyone that mad. _Brooke shuddered at the memory, and couldn't help but thinking; _what would he do to Max if he found out about the rape?_

"Brooke, are you sure you're okay, do you need to go to the hospital or anything-…" Max began, touching her arm, but Brooke pulled it away from him angrily.

"Why didn't you try to stop Lucas?" She asked angrily, "What if he had killed the guy!"

Max stepped back slightly, "Brooke, first of all I had to keep you away from it all so you didn't get hurt, and second, Lucas _hates _me, if I got his attention in that angry rampage, he would've killed _me,_" Max said before frowning, "And besides, I'm glad he did it, or I would've killed them myself for almost hitting you, and probably killing our baby,"

Brooke couldn't help but glare at him, _he deserved Lucas's wrath much more for what he had done a couple of months ago, and here he was, so scared to even intercept for someone else. _Not that Brooke wanted Lucas to hurt Max, nor did she want Lucas to ever find out, but she couldn't help a bitter part of her to vent.

"Brooke, no one should've gotten in his way. Nathan is probably the best person to have stopped him, because Lucas wouldn't hurt his brother," Haley explained, watching as Nathan pulled out of the parking spot with the angry Lucas beside him.

Brooke watched after the car as well, before sighing and wrapping her arms protectively around the little bump on her stomach.

Peyton, who had seen all this from across the field sighed, _what was happening to Lucas. The Lucas she knew would never go that ballistic on anyone, ever. But today, he would've killed that guy had it not been for Nathan. What is going on with him? Brooke was making him crazy!_

Peyton wasn't stupid; she knew that he didn't love her. No, he did love her, but she knew he also loved Brooke. And the fact that Brooke was with someone else, having someone else's baby was eating up at Lucas.

But Peyton didn't know what to do for him. It appeared that Brooke and Max were in a really good relationship. He cared so much for Brooke, if Brooke even winced in discomfort, Max would be at her side to do anything to make it a little more bearable for Brooke. And it was common knowledge that they basically lived together, or were 'neighbours'.

And Brooke was going to have his baby soon. They were going to be like a family, and there wasn't room for Lucas in that family. Of course, a part of Peyton was delighted that Brooke ignored Lucas so stubbornly, but a part of her was convinced that that's what pulled Lucas even closer to Brooke.

Lucas had to get over Brooke, and Peyton knew that she had to be patient with him so that their relationship could finally work after he got out of his depression over Brooke.

But it was slowly eating at her. She couldn't handle the reserved Lucas anymore, she hated it when he shut her out or brushed her away. It hurt much more then he knew, and how long did he really expect her to take it all. She had waited more then two months for him to get his act together, and be the Lucas she loved, but if he wasn't going to get over Brooke anytime soon, she'd have to take matters into her own hands.

_Brooke was doing this; she was playing with Lucas's head. She's slowly making Lucas go crazy. _

Peyton, who had known Brooke most, knew that she could be a little manipulative to get what she wants, but she had never thought she would go this far.

Lucas had warned her to stay away from Max, and knowing that Lucas didn't like her relationship with Max; she went and got _pregnant _with him, to throw it into Lucas's face and hurt him more. And she succeeded, Lucas was going crazy.

Peyton couldn't help but be slightly resentful as she watched the teary Brooke get lead toward the car by the devoted Max.

_So she gets the guy, but wants to drag Lucas along as well. She's only doing this, because she's so mad at me for having loved Lucas that now she's trying to sabotage her relationship, and make sure that Lucas and her couldn't be happy together._

And maybe that's why Peyton took all of Lucas's bullshit, because she knew that this was all a part of Brooke's plan. And she wouldn't let Brooke succeed in tearing them apart.

She loved Lucas, and Lucas loved her, and she would fight with everything she had for him.

_You're not going to split me and Lucas up, Brooke. _

**A/n Read and Review. **


	21. Chapter 21

Lucas didn't bother to struggle against it, when Nathan grabbed his upper arm and forcefully pulled him out of the car at the River Court.

Nathan knew that this was the best place to have a slightly calmer Lucas, because at this point, his eyes were blood red in fury. Looking at Lucas right now would have any girl or guy alike shitting their pants, but Nathan was unfazed.

"What the fuck was that?" He demanded angrily. _Lucas would've killed that guy had Nathan not gotten their on time. Was his half brother fucking crazy?_

Lucas looked away glaring, his hands still clenched in tight fists, his knuckles white.

Nathan could help but feel angrier and he shoved his brother slightly, "I'm talking to you. You couldn't shut the fuck up for a second back there, what happened now?" Nathan asked, getting in his face.

Lucas shoved him away, "Not now Nathan," He growled.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Nathan asked incredulously, "For the past few months, you've slowly gotten more and more screwed up, to a point where now you're a fucking maniac," Nathan yelled, "What the fuck happened to you, like I seriously worry about your mental state. Wasn't I suppose to be the crazy brother, and you the calm, collected, sensible one? You make me look like an angel!"

Lucas ignored him, leaning against the hood of the car, still picturing how close the car was to Brooke, and he couldn't help but feel angrier.

Nathan snapped his fingers in front of him, "Yo, I'm talking to you, what the fuck's gotten into you, you're friggin psychotic," Nathan exploded in frustration. Lucas scowled at him, and Nathan finally sighed, "Ok listen, man, I get it, I know why you were pissed, I would've been too. But you should've handed them to the police or something Lucas, why did you have to almost kill the guy?"

Lucas pushed away from the car, "Is that what you would've done had it been Haley almost getting run over?" Lucas challenged with a raised brow.

Nathan pursed his lips, "Okay, I get it… but what are you trying to say? Comparing Brooke to Haley, I love Haley… does that mean you love Brooke?" Nathan asked knowingly.

Lucas shook his head, unable to meet Nathan's eyes.

Nathan laughed un-humorously, "Denial,"

Lucas nodded, slowly lowering to the ground, and sitting in the middle of the court, his legs spread in front of him and his arms behind him so each palm was planted flat against the ground and was supporting him, Nathan wasn't sure he was gonna say anything after a few silent minutes.

"Brooke," Lucas finally whispered.

Nathan sighed, taking a seat beside his brother on the ground, "Oh man, Lucas," He groaned in sympathy.

"I know," Lucas shrugged.

"It's weird, I always knew man. Even Haley doubted it, along with all you guys, but I always knew."

Lucas cracked a sad smile, "Why didn't you give me a heads up?" He asked lamely.

Nathan snorted, "HA, are you serious. You were so messed up back then, deluding yourself into going for Peyton again. Brooke broke up with you and you went running to her best friend. You wanna know why?"

"Million dollar question,"

"Because you thought you had lost Brooke's love. And _you _were insecure, and you went running in the direction you knew you could get love. You knew Peyton loved you, and you made your always-there-weird-lingering-crush on her into something it wasn't. You actually thought you loved her? Peyton is your safety net. You knew that Brooke would always have or create drama in her life, and instead of fighting for her, you took the easy way out," Nathan explained with a shrug.

"It wasn't exactly like that. She pushed me to Peyton, she closed off and told me she didn't want to be with me anymore, ever," Lucas insisted, looking at him in frustration.

"And you believed her? I'm not even with her much and I know her _better?_" Nathan questioned, "Because I know that Brooke Davis, behind all her bullshit cover, only wanted to be loved by you. She wanted you all to herself, or should I say, she wanted your heart all to herself. But everyone knew your and Peyton's creepy _thing,_ and Brooke didn't want to deal with that. And her way to find out was to push you away, and see if you would still come back. And good job, you confirmed her worst fears, and didn't."

Lucas buried his face in his hands groaning, "I fucked up so bad, Nate, I fucked up so _fucking _bad," He admitted vulnerably, for the first time to anyone but Brooke, "And _now,_ now she's pregnant with that bastard Max, and basically living with him,"

Nathan didn't respond. What could he say? Lucas was right, he had pushed Brooke too far, and Nathan wasn't sure if she would ever come back.

"I know man, but that doesn't mean that you go around killing people right. Like I know those guys were fucked up and deserved to get their asses whipped, but you almost literally _killed _him. And you were so angry; you probably would've killed anyone that tried to get in the way as well,"

There was another long pause before Lucas finally said something, without removing the hands from his face, "Nathan, in that second when I saw that car drive into the lot, knowing it was heading for Brooke, in that second Nate, I don't know what happened to me. My chest hurt so bad, it was like I was slowly suffocating. The thought of that car touching Brooke made me want to do anything to take her place… I would have rather that the car had hit me then come anywhere close to her, and I've never felt that before. And I didn't know I had felt that now, until that second, when I knew I could lose her. And Nathan, I don't know what I would do if I woke up one day and Brooke Davis was not there, if I never saw those dimples again… if I never got to take her in my arms ever again… and if I never got to tell her I still loved her."

When Lucas finally let his hands fall from his face, Nathan was shocked to find that there were actually tears pooling around his eyes; and one by one, they slid off his cheek and to the cement between his legs.

Nathan shook his head helplessly, his arm draping Lucas's shoulders in comfort.

"How do you feel Brooke?" Max asked when they arrived at her apartment.

Brooke didn't respond, wrapping her arms around herself, unable to keep from shaking slightly.

Max got up to lead Brooke to the couch, "Brooke, c'mon, you have to relax. This stress and tension isn't good for our baby,"

Brooke sighed, as Max put an arm around her, but at that moment she didn't really realize anything happening around her, all she could think of was Lucas. _He saved her. _Brooke had been so shaken up over his fury violence later, that she never really got to go back and think of the initial act. _He had saved her life… and her baby's life. If he hadn't of pulled her away in time, there was no way she and her baby would've survived that. Lucas Scott had saved her life._

"I wish I could've talked to Lucas later," She whispered out loud.

Max froze beside her, his arm around her stiffening, "What? No way, he was psychotic; I wouldn't want you and our baby anywhere around him," He instructed.

Brooke finally pulled away from Max, getting up and away from him, "How could you say that?" She demanded incredulously, "He _saved my life_; I don't think you should worry about me or _my _baby getting hurt around him,"

Max shook his head, "I don't trust that guy. He had some serious anger issues Brooke and you need to be in a safe environment, and being around people the likes of him can't be good,"

Brooke furrowed her brows in disbelief, "Who the hell are you to tell me who I should or shouldn't be around?" Brooke demanded angrily. _Who was he to be talking about Lucas like he was some lunatic that would go around killing people? _

"I'm just saying, it would be smart to stay away from him, he's kind of unstable," Max urged.

"Lucas is _nothing _like that, he's never ever done anything like this before, and the only reason he did it today was because they almost ran me over, and then what that bastard said about me,"

"It wasn't worse then what Lucas said about you a few months ago," Max countered evenly.

Brooke's mouth opened in shock, "That was because of _you!_" Brooke screamed, "He was hurt that I had moved on with you, and finding out about the pregnancy took him overboard,"

"You're _defending _him?" Max asked horrified, "The guy degraded you and made you the subject of ridicule in front of the whole school and you're defending him? Is that what he told you, huh Brooke? I didn't know you two ever talked, so when did he find the time to tell you how he was _feeling_,"

"I don't know who you think you are in my life, because you're nothing. Just because I've been friendly toward you recently, doesn't give you the right to think you own me, so _back off_ Max!" Brooke demanded.

Max sighed in defeat, "Ok Brooke, sorry, please relax," He begged, standing up to face her, "I didn't mean to get you worked up. I just really care about you two, and don't want either of you to get hurt. And seeing Lucas burst out like that frightened you, and I don't want anything to hurt you two,"

Brooke took a deep breath, "I'm sorry for snapping. I just need to be alone right now Max." She finally said, exhausted, "I think I'm going to go take a nap."

Before Max could say more, she dragged herself to her room, taking a seat on her bed. _Oh god Lucas. _Brooke hated seeing Lucas the way he was today, there was something so wrong. They way he reacted, was so un-Lucas like. She knew he cared, he had shown that much today, but… it wasn't that simple.

Brooke could see that Lucas loved her, and she knew Max could see it as well, and that's why he was so against her talking to Lucas. But things weren't as simple as they use to be, the last time she had forgiven him and gone back to him was so simple compared to now. Which was funny, because at that time, she thought her situation was the hardest thing ever. But now, now things were ten times as complicated. He had once again hurt her, gone to Peyton and into a relationship with her; she had been raped and was now pregnant. Nothing was going for them; it was like everything was against them as a couple.

They could never be together.

Brooke shivered, and found herself dialling a familiar number, "I need to see you right now,"

Ten minutes later she heard her doorbell ring, and opened the door and led her guest to her room. They sat across each other on her bed, and after telling them the whole story, Brooke reached out for their hand, "Rachel, I don't know what to do anymore," She admitted in a whisper.

Rachel shook her head sympathetically, and wrapped her arms around her, "Oh babe, I know. Oh my god, I can't believe so much has happened… _you could've been killed today!_" Rachel exclaimed, her hug tightening on Brooke, "My best friend could've been killed." She whispered to herself, "Thank god Lucas made scrap out of him, or I would've had to hunt him down myself,"

Ever since Brooke had moved in here, Rachel had never come over. And Brooke had never entered her house either, both for different reasons. Many times they had met at a restaurant, or at school, but one thing Rachel couldn't stand more then anything was to be anywhere near Max. And the fact that Max was over here all the time made her feel nauseous, and at first she had caused uproar. Demanding that Brooke could not live there, could not talk to Max, and couldn't let him anywhere near her. But after talking to Karen, she had managed to, if not convince, hold Rachel back. Yet she still refused to come anywhere near the bastard.

But today, today Rachel couldn't hold back. She had to come over.

"You should've seen him Rach, it was so scary," Brooke whispered, "He was so mad, his eyes were red and it was like he couldn't see anyone else,"

Rachel frowned as she saw Brooke wrap her arms around herself and shiver slightly,_ Him diverting that anger to Max is what I wanna see. _Rachel hated this; she had to see her best friend rely on the one person she should hate and avoid at all costs, when she had a guy that loved her and would do anything for her, given he was a little confused and messed up, but Lucas, in her eyes, always loved Brooke. Ever since that day at the river court…

_Rachel smirked as she tossed the basketball toward Lucas, "Alright, you say Brooke's the 'one'; your __soulmate__." She began sarcastically, as she grabbed his shirt from his hand, "Well, if that's the case,… call upon __destiny__ or… providence… or whatever forces that are gonna bring you two together-…" _

_Lucas looked away laughing, before extending his arms and easily making the shot. _

_Rachel raised a brow, "Blindfolded," She finished smugly, as she rolled the shirt and wrapped it neatly around his eyes.__ridiculous__!"_

Lucas laughed, "This is

"Come on! It's your destiny… You can't miss. OK, can you see me?"

"No."

Rachel did a little embarrassing dance in front of him, but he didn't move nor crack a grin, "OK, I trust you. Now follow my voice," She explained, situating near the basket, "Brooke's the 'one', make the shot."

Lucas took his time, before he bounced the ball once, aimed, his arms extending in the air and swiftly, the ball rolling off his fingers and he took the shot.

_The ball went through the net perfectly._

Lucas paused, before slowly removing the shirt before his eyes, "Wh-what happened?"

"It went in."

That night, she had been so shocked at the words Lucas had spoken about Brooke, and the love he claimed. She had tried so hard to seduce him, she had stood in front of him shirtless and he had just laughed and handed her shirt back to her.

And to be honest, not only had it pissed her off, but she had been so jealous. She was at that point in her life where her relationships consisted of nothing but sex. And then there was Brooke, who was so like her, but there she had one of the hottest guys in town so blindly in love with her and turning down shirtless girls for even the nonexclusive relationship Brooke had put him in.

She had wanted a Lucas; someone who wouldn't even glance at a girl, who was throwing herself at him, someone who was making blindfolded shots for her, someone who would call her the _one._

So even though she had hated Lucas throughout the bastard moves he pulled on Brooke, hated his guts, she _still _never doubted that he loved her. Even in his raw anger and resentment, she knew that behind all that was his odd love for Brooke.

Of course, she knew he was messed up for going to Peyton, and she would never forgive him for that.

But, he was definitely the lesser of two evils, and being with or even relying on Max, wasn't an option, according to Rachel.

Brooke pulled out of Rachel's stiff arms, "Rachel, I don't know what to do," She whispered honestly, "I know Lucas has feelings for me, but I don't think I can forgive him… I don't think I can _trust _him. Right now, more then anything I need a rock, some one I could rely on no matter what, and Lucas has failed me so many times, and then won me over with his weird way with words and actions before, yet look where we still ended up. And I do care for him, but, I mean this baby, and Max, he's been the rock I needed, and I _know _this is messed up, and I _know _I should hate him, but he's the one whose been what I needed these few months, and I don't know if I could let go of that," Brooke took a deep breath, "I don't know what to _do_,"

Rachel sighed, brushing the hair out of Brooke's torn face, "That's what I'm here for, but I don't think you wanna know what I think,"

Brooke looked away, "I _know_."

"Brooke, you act like what Max did was forgivable," Rachel accused.

Brooke sighed, "It wasn't,"

"Then what the hell are you doing living with the friggin guy,"

"I'm not _living _with him,"

"He makes you _dinner_, he helps wash the dishes, he drags you outta bed and takes you to school. You two are inseparable, and that's fucked up. All that should be inseparable from Max is a jail cell… or Lucas's fist," Rachel snapped, but regretted it instantly when she saw Brooke wince.

"Listen Brooke, I love you and hate seeing you with him. I'm scared because I think you _rely _on him greatly and you're slowly becoming so overly dependent on him that you wouldn't be able to stay away from him now, even if you wanted," Rachel said mournfully.

"Rach, that's bullshit, I am not dependent on him," Brooke stated, but it didn't sound at all convincible, and Brooke opened her mouth to try again but nothing would come out, no words would form in her defence.

Rachel put a comforting hand on Brooke's shaking knee, "Babe, _I _want to help you, and I can. You need to tell Lucas about the rape, and get the fuck away from Max,"

Brooke looked at her in disbelief, "What the hell?"

"Brooke, Max _raped _you,"

Brooke turned her head from Rachel, refusing to make eye contact.

"Brooke…"

"Stop it Rachel," Brooke snapped.

"Oh my god," Rachel whispered, shaking her head, "I _knew_ it,"

"What?" Brooke snapped, suddenly getting angry.

"You're _pretending_!" Rachel accused in shock.

Rachel-…"

"You're pretending like he didn't rape you!" Rachel stated, ignoring Brooke, "You're living with him so comfy and dandy because you're blocking out the fucking fact that he _raped _you,"

Brooke got up, "_Shut up _Rachel, that's not what I'm doing!" She insisted, not really knowing why she was getting so upset. _Why were Rachel's words pissing her off so bad? _

"Brooke-…"

"I want you to leave,"

"What?" Rachel asked incredulously.

Brooke opened her room door, "Rachel, leave,"

Rachel shook her head in disbelief, _was Brooke really kicking her out? Is Brooke really that in denial that she won't even listen to her? What the hell?_

"Brooke, what-…"

"I don't want to talk to you right now_, leave!_" Brooke half yelled.

Rachel was about to argue, but when she saw Brooke clutch the little bump on her stomach it brought her back to the reality of the situation. Brooke was pregnant, and Rachel was causing stress, which wasn't good for the baby or Brooke. So before things could escalate any further, Rachel got up, and with one last look at Brooke turned and left the room.

Brooke watched her go, wanting so bad to call her back, to run after her, to stop her… but she didn't.

She watched Rachel cross her apartment, and was about to turn away until she saw Max enter the apartment. Suddenly, Rachel's back stiffened.

"Uh, hey Rachel," Max began awkwardly.

Rachel couldn't stand it, the sight of him made her skin crawl, and instantly images of the raped, crying, beaten and bruised Brooke came to mind, the way she had found her naked in her living room that morning, and before she could think twice, she had pulled back her arm, and with all the force she could manage, brought her fist roughly at Max's face.

"_AH!" _Max fell back clutching his eye and Rachel flexed her stinging fist, a smile mixed of disgust and satisfaction on her face as she stepped over the shocked Max, and glancing back at the sad Brooke one last time, she pulled together all the saliva she could manage and spat it on Max before she turned and left.

**A/n Sorry for the long delay in updating. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please read and review!**


	22. Chapter 22

"Max, I don't want to go to this stupid dance," Brooke groaned miserably.

Max sighed, "It's been two weeks, and you've taken refuge in this apartment. You _need _to get out and moving Brooke, it's not healthy for the baby if you just sit here all day looking like a sad puppy,"

Brooke turned around to face him on the sofa, to where he was standing in the kitchen, "I do not!" She glared.

Max raised his brow at her, and finally Brooke sighed, turning away from him stubbornly, "I'll take a walk or something,"

"You haven't gone to school for two weeks," He pointed out.

"I had swollen ankles!" She lied.

"They look the same,"

"They _hurt!_" She insisted, jutting out her bottom lip slightly.

"Brooke," He sighed.

"_Max_, stop acting like my mom!" She snapped.

"Brooke, you _need _to go, see all your friends and just have some fun. You being miserable makes our baby miserable."

"How?"

"You're not eating well, you're not getting exercise, you're miserable… it's friggin depressing," He groaned.

Brooke turned to face him again, opening her mouth with a resort before he interrupted, "If not for yourself, then at least for our- your baby," He reasoned.

Brooke threw him daggers with her eyes; _he had to use that card, _"Where is this stupid dance taking place?" She asked rolling her eyes.

Max stifled a grin, "Uh, at that really nice banquet just off McGills,"

"Fine, I'll go to the stupid dance, even though it doesn't make sense how this is the best way to get exercise or be happy or whatever you want, but I'll go to the stupid dance, even if I look like a fat elephant!" She groaned.

Max smiled affectionately, coming around the couch to sit beside her, "You _do not _look like a fat elephant Brooke, in fact, I think you look ten times more gorgeous with that unexplainable pregnancy glow on your face-… and I didn't think it was possible for you to get any better looking," He insisted sincerely.

Brooke rolled her eyes, "Yeah okay,"

Max chucked, "Seriously, you do. But you don't have to believe me. And I want you to go to the dance so you can have fun again Brooke. I hate seeing you like this, I really and honestly do. You've been so down… and just, depressing to look at,"

Brooke scowled. _She really had been horrible these two weeks, and what Max didn't know was that she had been crying herself to sleep every night since. There were so many things that she needed to deal with, but she couldn't right now… and that was slowly eating her up. Every day that passed, it made her sadder and sadder, yet she couldn't explain why._

_And she thought about him._

_But she couldn't even say his name, even to herself… much less think it. _

"_Okay,_ you're a bag of sunshine too," She sniped, rolling her eyes, "And I'll go to the friggin dance, get off my back,"

Max grinned, "Good,"

"Well then, gotta go find an outfit that would actually _fit _me," She sighed, putting a hand on the sofa's arm rest to help herself up.

"You're not even that big yet," Max said, shaking his head at her, but she ignored him as she headed towards her room. Max watched her, a smile on his lips.

"Lucas," Peyton cooed in his ear, as she draped her arms around his neck, leaning into him from behind. He sat on his bed, and put a finger to the back of her head.

"Peyton…" He began, slowly trying to pull away.

But unlike usual, where she would pout and be hurt and pull away from him, this time she ignored his attempts, and tightened her hold, her lips now brushing behind his ear, "Mmm,"

Lucas leaned into her affectionate touch, but his mind was else where… on someone else.

And Peyton knew this, but today she didn't let it faze her, as she continued to do funny little things on his neck, her tongue flicking out against his skin.

In return, Lucas sighed. And he could feel her miss a beat against his neck, her breathing coming to a halt, before she stubbornly continued, now nuzzling his neck softly.

_She hasn't come to school for two weeks._

He could barely register the fact that Peyton was slowly unbuttoning his shirt, and didn't even know what she was whispering into his ear.

_He missed her._

Peyton came around him, so that now she was straddling his lap. They hadn't been affectionate like this in so long, that now Peyton's frustration was coming out urgently, as her nails scraped his bare chest, and her lips clamped onto his dominatingly.

_Was she okay?_

He was leaning back on his bed, and Peyton's kisses were getting more and more persistent. He wasn't sure if he was replying back or not, and he realized that his hands were still at his sides and half-heartedly put them around her waist.

_Did she hate him?_

"Lucas," Peyton groaned against his lips, and Lucas remembered that he should be moving them. But it was too late; Peyton rolled off him and lay beside him on the bed. She panted, regaining her breath, and they lay side by side quietly.

Lucas lay there, staring at the ceiling, vaguely aware of Peyton lying next to him; he knew he should say something, some sort of an excuse, anything to make it all okay. He should say sorry, he should kiss her, he should break up with her; but he did nothing.

So like always, a few quiet moments later; Peyton finally spoke, "We should leave for the dance soon,"

He replied, or at least he thought he did, because a while later she got up and left him alone on the bed.

"Brooke, you look… beautiful," Max breathed out in awe, as Brooke stepped out of her room two hours later.

Brooke rolled her eyes, doing a little spin for him, "I guess it's not bad for something I had to just throw together on moments notice," She stated satisfied, looking down at herself.

Max smiled shaking his head, his fingers struggling with his tie, "We can leave in just a sec, I usually have these things pre-tied but I don't know how I forgot this one and now-…" But he was cut off when his hands were replaced by Brooke's.

He looked up at her in surprise, as she frowned in concentration, "I'm not sure, but I've seen it done many times, I'm sure it goes something like, under… then wait, ugh this is why I recommend clip ons,"

But Max didn't hear a word she said, too distracted by how close she was to him. _She looked so beautiful, even with her eyebrows all furrowed together, and annoyance in her face… she was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen according to him. And the glow of pregnancy radiating off her face, making her look like an angel. _

She snapped her fingers in front of his face, causing him to come out of his trance embarrassed, "Uh… thanks," He said, looking down at the slightly messy job with a smile.

"By the way, you look like a total dork," She stated, giving him a critical look over, "And why did you have to match with my dress?" She asked with a raised brow.

Max turned a shade of pink, "Uh… I didn't know you'd be wearing black and black is so normal, it's…"

Brooke rolled her eyes interrupting, "Alright let's get this thing over with,"

"Lucas, stop looking like a lost puppy," Peyton growled as they entered the hall.

Lucas tried to put on a smile for her, but failed miserably, "Sorry," He whispered under his breath.

Peyton just shook her head sadly, "I don't know what…" But she trailed off when she saw Haley and Nathan head over to them, "Hey guys!" she plastered on a smile and hugged them enthusiastically before playfully rubbing Haley's huge belly.

Lucas attempted a smile at Nathan, but Nathan just shook his head in disappointment, pulling Lucas to the side, "_I told you to stop leading her on!" _He hissed, motioning at Peyton.

Lucas didn't say anything, "I'm not,"

"You guys are still going out aren't you," Nathan challenged.

Lucas shrugged.

Nathan sighed, "Listen man, you can't keep…" But Lucas zoned out, unable to hear the rest because that's when Brooke walked in with Max. His eyes were on her instantly, having not seen her for two weeks now, his eyes swallowed her hungrily. He gulped hard; she looked so beautiful, those dimples causing his heart to do funny stuff… but there was something missing in her eyes. And though it had been missing for some time now, today it looked even worse, now they were just two dim emotionless eyes. She looked like she hadn't slept for weeks, yet she was still the most beautiful girl in the room.

Her eyes met his instantly, and a look so heartbreaking passed through her eyes and over her face, that he would never forget it. He couldn't place the emotion, it was beyond hurt or sadness; it was entirely a look of its own.

Lucas's heart clenched in his chest, before she quickly masked it and looked away.

When Nathan realized Lucas had totally tuned him out, he turned to follow his gaze and found Brooke standing next to Max awkwardly. He looked back understandingly at the look of anguish on Lucas's face, and patted him slightly on the arm before making his way toward Brooke.

Brooke grinned at Nathan, but it didn't even brush her eyes as Nathan threw his arms around her gently, "What's up Brooke, haven't been to school for a while now?"

"Yeah, swollen ankles," She said with a shrug, but Brooke wasn't good at lying, so when Nathan nodded his head, but she could tell he didn't buy it.

"Uh, where's Haley-…" She started, looking past him, but stopped mid-sentence when she saw her laughing with Peyton, "…Oh,"

Nathan half turned to glance at his oblivious wife, before turning back towards Brooke sheepishly, but Brooke quickly changed the subject, "Have you seen… Rachel?" Brooke asked, wincing slightly. _Ever since that day, Brooke hadn't spoken to Rachel, and even though Rachel had called a few times, Brooke ignored them. She didn't want to deal with Rachel's words, and the only way to avoid it was to ignore her. But that only made her sadder, and more alone._

Nathan shook his head, "No, I think her mom came to town for this week, so Rachel's spending it with her," He replied with a shrug.

_Her mom was in town? Rachel must be so happy, _Brooke thought with a sad smile, she knew how much Rachel's mom meant to Rachel, they had a really strained relationship, and any time she spends with her was very emotional for Rachel.

_I should be there for her._

Brooke nodded slowly, as Nathan was already looking at Max, "Hey man," He greeting, and as the two guys bumped fists, Brooke found her eyes travel back to Lucas.

She regretting it instantly, because he was still looking at her and she quickly ducked her gaze back to Nathan and Max, who were talking about something stupid that happened during a recent basketball practice.

She could still feel his eyes burning holes into her, and it was hard not to look up again. _She was so stupid; she didn't even think of this when she agreed. She didn't even think of him; because she had restricted him from her thoughts, she didn't even realize he would be here… and with Peyton._

She couldn't let this affect her, she had to be stronger. Nothing could break her now, she had been too broken already, she was invincible now… at least she was suppose to be.

_Then why did the sight of Peyton intertwining her fingers with Lucas's make Brooke's heart hurt?_

_This was gonna be a long night._

Lucas sat beside Peyton for most of the night, but his eyes never left Brooke. Luckily, there wasn't much distance between, because she sat just across the table from him. Haley and Nathan had somehow managed to put the three pairs on one table, ignoring Brooke's protest.

Now sitting across her, his eyes drilled into her shamelessly leaving an awkward and uncomfortable Brooke, who sat there avoiding his eye like the plague, but he couldn't stop staring at her. There was something about her, so beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time that it tugged at his heart.

Of course, it was probably the quietest and most awkward table at the whole dance, laid out basically so that Brooke and Max were at one side, Nathan and Haley in between, and Lucas and Peyton across Brooke, with a huge gap left between the two couples from the other side.

And, like any high school event, there is always a supply of illegal alcohol, and he had his hands on more then his share. One shot was thrown back the second Max and Brooke joined them at the table.

The second quickly followed when he saw Max lean over to whisper something in Brooke's ear.

"Lucas lets dance," Peyton insisted beside him, her hand grabbing his hand which was currently clenched into a fist on top of the table.

Finally, Brooke glanced up, and at first he saw her eyes fall on his and Peyton's hands, before meeting his eyes for a quick second and turning away.

Lucas sighed.

"Yeah, everybody, how lame can we _get?_" Haley sighed, "We've been here the whole friggin night, lets all go and dance,"

"Haley I don't really want-…"

"Brooke, c'mon, the whole point of this was to get you on your feet, but now you've been sitting here the whole night, what's the difference? C'mon, at least once dance, guys come on,"

Peyton smiled, getting up and gently pulling at Lucas's arm. But before he could get up, he saw Max take a hold of Brooke's hand to follow. Lucas glared at them, throwing back his head and the contents of his third shot disappeared within a second before he let Peyton lead them to the dance floor.

Brooke followed behind with Max and she looked up hesitantly at Lucas, who now had his back to her as he was led by Peyton. She could feel her throat clog up slightly and choked back tears as she let Max lead her to a spot on the dance floor, well away from Lucas and Peyton.

_It still hurt._

"Brooke, are you okay?" Max asked concerned at the misery on her face.

Brooke bit her bottom lip and nodded, looking anything but. She draped her arms around Max as a slow song began.

She let Max pull her closer, so that her head was resting on his shoulder now and of course her eyes landed on Lucas and Peyton, who were a few couples away on her right.

Peyton had wrapped her arms around Lucas's neck, pressing herself as close as possible to him, causing Brooke's heart to burn slightly, and just then Lucas looked over her head and his eyes met Brooke's.

This time, Brooke couldn't look away…

_Everybody knows, that I was such a fool_

_To ever let go of you…_

_Baby I was wrong_

It hurt like hell to see Brooke in the arms of Max, but it killed to see those eyes. And he knew that in some way… it was his fault.

_  
Yeah I know I said, we'd be better off alone  
it was time that we moved on_

Brooke could feel her tears burn her eyelids again, _she couldn't do this, she couldn't cry in front of him. She had to be strong; she had to hold back until she got home. _

_  
I know I broke your heart, I didn't mean to break your heart  
but baby here I am,_ _banging on your front door  
my pride spilled on the floor  
my hands and knees are bruised _

…_and I'm crawling back to you  
_

Brooke shut her eyes tightly, unable to look at his eyes; it hurt too much, and instantly his words from a night a few weeks ago entered her mind, "Because the truth is, I _love you, Brooke. _I've _always _loved you," Brooke breathed out slowly, it was painful looking at him, but it was unbearable not to, and slowly her eyes opened again to meet his; both their eyes bearing so much grief, his eyes pleading with hers…

_Begging for a second chance  
Are you gonna let me in?  
I was running from the truth_

…_and now I'm crawling back to you_

Lucas couldn't take this anymore. He knew he was sinking; he wasn't the same guy anymore. Not having Brooke in his life was slowly driving him insane. It was like nothing mattered anymore. All that mattered was her.

_I know you're in there and you can make me wait  
But I'm not gonna wait  
It's the least that I can do, just to tell you face to face  
I was lying to myself, now I'm dying in this hell  
Girl I know you're mad, I can't blame you for being mad  
But baby here I am_

_Banging on your front door  
my pride spilled on the floor  
my hands and knees are bruised, _

_And now I'm crawling back to you_

Lucas wanted more then anything to pull away from Peyton, push through the couples and pull Brooke into his arms tightly. He wanted to hold her and touch her, and kiss her and never ever let go again. Her eyes locked with his, and even from the distance between them and the darkly lit room, he knew she was crying.

_Begging for a second chance  
Are you gonna let me in?  
I was running from the truth and now I'm crawling back to you_

Brooke couldn't hold back any longer. Her heart was slowly strangling her, and she couldn't pull her eyes away from Lucas. Brooke could feel the tears trail down her cheeks and she bit down harder on her lips to keep them from quivering

_If you could see these tears I'm crying  
Touch these hands that can't stop shaking  
hear my heart that's bare-ly beating  
_

Lucas gulped down, his mouth opened slightly in pain; he couldn't stand to see her like that. The sight of her broke his heart, and it was like he couldn't breathe anymore… _I'm sorry Brooke._

_You will see a different man_

_But baby here I am  
Banging on your front door  
my pride spilled on the floor  
my hands and knees are bruised and I'm crawling back to you (come on)_

Brooke wiped a few tears from her eyes, _it was too much to forgive, she couldn't be with Lucas… she couldn't trust him.  
_

_Begging for a second chance  
Are you gonna let me in? (Let me in)  
I was running from the truth, now I'm crawling back to you_

_Banging on your front door (darling)  
My pride spilled on the floor  
I was running from the truth, now I'm crawling back to you, yeah  
Now I'm crawling back to you_

He wanted so much to beg for her forgiveness, force her to forgive him, he was miserable without her and he could tell that she was too. He wanted to be with her so bad; he regretted everything he has ever done that has put them here, separated.

_  
Crawling back to you  
_

Lucas could feel pain, and he didn't know where it was from. He was hurting all over, he had never felt like this before, _I love you Brooke._

_Crawling back to you  
_

_Crawling… back… to… you…_

Brooke was shaking slightly now, and Lucas pulled away from Peyton, his foot taking a step toward Brooke's direction, but Max pulled away from Brooke and looked down at her with worry, causing Brooke's eyes to break away from him and look up at Max.

"Lucas-…"

"Peyton, not now," He cut her off, heading toward the pair.

But before he could get anywhere, Peyton grabbed his arm causing him to turn back to her, "Stop it Lucas!" She hissed, "I'm fucking sick of this, you are _not _going to them!"

Lucas frowned, "Peyton-…"

'No, stop it Lucas, stop acting like this obsessed freak. You fucking stared at her the whole time we've been here, and I finally get you to dance and the second the first song is over you're heading towards her again? What's wrong with you, Luke?"

_Luke… Brooke use to call him that._

"Aren't you listening to a word I'm saying?"

_Brooke's crying… he needs to be there._

"I need to go right now Peyton," he said, pulling his arm away from her, and turned around towards where Brooke was.

But they weren't there anymore. Lucas frowned, and picked up his pace, his eyes searching the dance floor for them, and then back at their table… but they were no where.

_Where were they? Where was Brooke?_

"Max, where are you taking me?" Brooke asked annoyed, when he led her out in the foyer and into another room in the back, with a gentle hand on her upper arm.

"I need to talk to you Brooke," Max said, seeming a little shy even.

Brooke frowned, _what the hell is going on? Why was he taking her to another room? And why couldn't he say whatever he wanted to say at home? _

But it didn't matter, anything to get away from the situation she was in. It had been too overwhelming, and she had been weak. She let Lucas and Max see her cry, which was the last thing she needed.

Brooke wiped away the remaining tears, saving them for when she was alone, and even though her heart still felt the same, very bloated with pain, she had to hide that right now. She had to…

Max fidgeted with his hands slightly red in the face, causing Brooke to frown slightly, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothings wrong… its just –I just… Brooke there is something I was thinking –I mean something I wanted to –I need to do," He stuttered, unable to meet her eyes.

Brooke raised a brow impatiently, "Why are you so nervous? And what are you talking about?"

Brooke felt a weird sense of fear build up into her, and glanced side ways at the door, measuring the distance in between her and it with her eyes quickly. What she didn't realize was that, she was unconsciously going back to the day he had raped her, the fear building up in her was the normal fear someone would feel being around an abuser, a rapist.

"It's well…" Max took a deep breath before continuing, "Alright you know what, I'm going to go for it. I've been thinking of this for a long while now, and I know you're wondering why all of a sudden I'm pulling you away at a dance, but… I'll probably coward out other wise, and right now, seeing those tears from your eyes, I'm the bravest I'll ever be,"

Brooke sighed folding her arms across her middle, and leaned back on the arm rest of a sofa behind her, "Ok…"

Max took another deep breath, calming himself down slightly, "Ok, Brooke seeing you cry in there hurts." He began, "And I hate seeing you sad. And it's common for a pregnant teenager without a boyfriend or anything to be scared shitless as the date nears."

_What?_

"…And I know you've been so quiet and uncomfortable this whole night because seeing how Haley is also pregnant but how she has a loving husband with her to take care of her, and how much easier it is for her makes you a little sad for yourself, and I understand that," Max insisted sincerely, taking her two hands in his.

Brooke frowned, "Max that's-…"

"It's okay Brooke. I don't think you're a bad person for it at all. In fact, I totally understand it, I feel kind of sad too that Nathan gets to touch Haley's stomach and feel the baby, and talk to it, and take care of it properly, so I understand how you feel too. It makes sense Brooke," He whispered his eyes searching hers innocently, "And I hate seeing you so depressed all the time."

"But Max-…"

"No Brooke, I don't want you to defend yourself, because there is nothing to defend, and I've decided I want us to change that. Seeing you so depressed these past two weeks, breaks my heart Brooke. And I know a way we'll both be happy…"

Brooke opened her mouth to correct him again, but before she could say anything he lowered to one knee in front of her, and Brooke's mouth fell open in surprise, "Max what are you-…"

"Brooke, I know that I've hurt you and have been horrible to you…"

Brooke felt a pang in her heart, but her face didn't change as he continued, "… but you having our baby has brought me closer and closer to you, and for some reason, you let me back in your life inch by inch, and I'm so grateful that you did. I love everything that I do for you and our baby; I even like waking up in the middle of the night to go get chocolate for you when you're craving it. Every second that I spend taking care of you I love."

"Max," Brooke whispered.

"Brooke Davis, you're one of the most beautiful women I have ever met, and I love everything about you, everything. You have the biggest heart, and I'm glad that you're the mother of my child and I hope our baby turns out to be exactly like you, because you're _perfect_ Brooke. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy, and making our baby happy. Brooke I have fallen in love with you, and I want to be a family with you and our baby. I want you to accept me into your family Brooke, I love you, and I pray that you will give me the pleasure to be your husband. So Brooke Davis, will you let me be the luckiest guy in the world and be _my_ wife?"

Brooke's eyes were wide as she looked down at the nervous Max kneeling down in front of her, "Max-…"

"In Your_ Fucking _Dreams!" And before Brooke could look up, she saw a fist collide against Max's jaw and he went crashing against the ground beside him.

Brooke looked up in shock to find a fuming Lucas…

**A/n sorry for the late update, school was taking over. But its winter break! : ) yay! Please leave by a review and lemme know what you guys think!**

**onetreehillgirl066****, ****oreo5228****, ****fggt16****, ****Princesakarlita411****. ****princetongirl****, ****WhiteRose0925****, ****othfan326****, ****rosseyanna****, ****toddntan****, ****cocochanelgirl****, ****Brucas10**** : **_**Thank you guys for your review! Sincerely appreciate it (L)**_


	23. Chapter 23

Brooke watched in horror as Lucas kneeled over Max, pulling Max's head up with a tight grip on his collar, and raised his arm to strike again.

And suddenly, Brooke froze. Nothing came out of her mouth, as a slow knot of panic built up inside her.

She looked down at the wide-eyed Max, _why didn't it affect her? Why wasn't she trying to stop Lucas?_

"What the fuck did you say? You want to _marry _her you dumb fuck?" Lucas demanded, his eyes set in a raging glare and his fists clenched white.

"Get the _fuck _off me!" Max threatened angrily, shoving Lucas away from him. Lucas regained his balance within seconds, but Max used them to gain a footing, "What the fuck is your problem man?" Max asked furiously, rubbing at his throbbing jaw, "Why can't you leave us the fuck alone?"

Lucas's eyes furrowed even more if it was possible, "Do you actually think I would let Brooke marry an asshole like you? You don't care about her, you don't love her the way-…"

"Oh I'm the asshole? Weren't you the one who had called Brooke a whore in front of the whole school? And kicked her out of your house? And you have the balls to call me the asshole?"

Lucas gritted his teeth, "_That was all because of YOU!_" He spat, "I _know _you, you didn't care for Brooke the way I do, and she was only putting up with you to get back at _ME!_"

Max glared at him, "Why the fuck are you even here, go back to your girlfriend you fucking pathetic _loser,_" Max grumbled, before looking over at Brooke, but her eyes had never left Lucas.

Lucas was avoiding her eyes now; he was too angry to look at her, his chest heaving up and down gently in quick angry breaths.

"Brooke-…" Max began.

"Max, I need a second with Lucas." Brooke said emotionlessly.

"No fucking way, this guys fucking nuts, I'm not leaving you alone with-…"

"Max, I'll catch up with you back at the table,"

"Brooke, we need to finish-…"

Brooke turned tearfully at him, the tears she had tried to contain so bad rushing down her cheeks forcefully, "Please Max, I need to do something, _please_,"

Max looked unsurely between her tearful face and Lucas's angry one, "Brooke-…" He began again before trailing off slowly with a sigh, he turned to walk away, but then quickly turned back around, glaring at Lucas, "Listen up dumbass, I let you go with the stunt you pulled just now, and only because I respect Brooke enough not to stress her out like that, but if you so much as _touch _Brooke, you will regret the day you were born," Max promised, venom dripping from his voice.

Lucas snorted in response, not even bothering to look at Max as he left the room, and when they heard Max's footsteps _slowly _leave, Brooke turned to Lucas. Lucas was still too angry to face her, his hands in tight fists and his jaw clenched.

Brooke took a deep breath, "_Luke…"_

_And then his heart clenched painfully._

Lucas's face twisted in hurt and disgust, as he turned to walk away, but as he walked past Brooke, she stopped him with a gently hand at his wrist, "I need to talk to you,"

Lucas pulled his wrist away from her with a hiss, but before he could walk any further, Brooke quickly ducked past him to block his exit, _"Lucas!" _Brooke scolded, but her look instantly softened and her lips opened in shock, _there were tears pooled around Lucas's eyes! _Brooke had expected so many things, she expected to yell at him, to tell him to get out of her life, to stop being crazy, and she expected him to yell back, to swear, to defend himself; but the one thing she didn't expect, she never expected, was his tears. Brooke was left speechless, a gulp making its way down her throat painfully.

"_WHAT BROOKE?_" He exploded as his face turned the image of pain and anger, "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" He screamed, "DO YOU WANT ME TO CONGRATULATE YOU, DO YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU I'M FUCKING HAPPY FOR YOU TWO? WHAT HUH? WHAT DO YOU FUCKING WANT FROM ME?!" His nerves were visible in his face and hands, his body shaking angrily, and his eyes fiery red.

Brooke winced, backing away from his force, "Lucas…"

He gripped the side of her arms tightly, "_What _Brooke?! Please stop doing this to me, _I'm fucking going insane_!" He insisted, his eyes locking hers.

"Lucas stop it," Brooke said uncomfortably, struggling slightly in his hold. It wasn't so much that it hurt, because while his hold on her was firm, it was gentle, but his touch was making her uncomfortable, there was something about the way his skin felt against hers, as if fire would ignite if he didn't pull away soon.

Lucas's hold loosened, his eyes full of agony, "P_lease_ stop it," he begged, falling to his knees in front of her. Brooke looked down at the broken man in front of her. He wasn't the same guy, and Brooke could feel a sob build its way up in her throat, her heart breaking for the guy in front of her. _Lucas…_

"I can't take this any longer; you don't know what you're doing to me, Brooke," He whispered, his hands sliding down her arms until they fell lifelessly to the ground in front of him. _It hurt so much._

Brooke's lower lip trembled slightly, a gut wrenching feeling washing through her as she watched him on the ground, looking so discarded and alone that it scared her. Brooke kneeled down slowly so that her face was at level with his, her fingers involuntarily pulling his chin up so his eyes would look into hers, "Lucas, I'm _not _going to marry Max," She whispered, "_I promise_,"

He looked up at her, his eye bloodshot and his forehead crunched up in pain, "Brooke, I _love_ you," He whispered honestly, "I'm gonna go crazy without you, I forgot how to be happy, I don't know how to smile… I need you back Brooke," He whispered, his hand slowly rising to caress the side of her face.

Without realizing it, she leaned into his touch, "Luke, I _know, _I didn't think it was this bad for you," _It was almost as bad as it was for her… almost, _"I don't want you to hurt," She whispered back sincerely.

"I don't want you to hurt either, Cheery," He whispered back, his other hand finding its place on the other side of her face, so that now he was cupping her face between his hands, "I want you to be happy… _with me,_" He stated determined.

Brooke smiled sadly; _she wanted to be happy with him too. She wanted to hold him again; she wanted to bury her head in his chest and feel… safe again. And she wanted him. And the look in his eyes confirmed that he wanted her as well, but it wasn't that simple…_

But as Lucas leaned his head toward her, his eyes trailing to her lips, Brooke found her eyes follow down to his mouth as well, her heart thud loudly against her chest, and she realized that her heart was ignoring the warning signals her brain was sending.

Their lips neared each other slowly, torturously, both broken, confused, and wanting the other more then they had ever wanted anyone. Their warm breaths on each other, as one of Lucas's hand slid to the back of her head, grabbing gently at a fistful of hair, pulling her toward him slowly. Brooke's hand followed lead; one against his cheek and the other affectionately on his chest. Their painful history forgotten in that moment, as they leaned in to close the last few inches.

_They had waited so long. They had longed for each other for so long. It had been too long, they were both sinking… they needed this so bad._

Brooke let her eyes shut slowly, as she felt his lips brush against hers, and she opened her mouth to respond when…

"HALEY!"

Lucas and Brooke jumped away from each other, standing up at the same time. A low groan left Lucas's lips instantly, but he couldn't mourn long, when he heard a gut wrenching scream again. _Haley?!_

Lucas and Brooke both ran out of the room and into the foyer to see Nathan carrying a stomach clenching Haley towards the door, "_Lucas_, get the CAR!" Nathan demanded, as Haley screamed painfully, holding her stomach tighter.

Lucas nodded, making a run for the door right away and Brooke looked wide eyed at Haley. Nathan tried to soothe Haley, his eyes as worried as Brooke's as he held his wife, who was screaming in pain in his arms, "Baby, it's gonna be okay, I need you to take a deep breath, c'mon Hales, please, deep breaths,"

Haley's face had gone red with pain and she only screamed longer, "N-Nathan, the b-baby's c-c-coming!" She managed out, throwing her head back in agony, as she tried to say more, but wasn't able to.

Brooke rushed over to him, "Nathan!" Brooke asked, putting a comforting hand on Haley's arm, as she watched Haley scream loudly, "W-what?"

"It's too early!" He whispered, his eyes filled with grief, "There's still a month left till she's due!"

Brooke couldn't respond, because Lucas had brought the car in front of the doors and Nathan had pushed past Brooke with the screaming Haley. Brooke watched after them with wide eyes, _oh no, please let everything be okay, oh no oh no!_

Before she could react, Max had his arms protectively around her shoulders, "Brooke, don't get too worked up, please, it's not good for _our _baby," He whispered into her ear.

Brooke turned around, putting some distance between then, "Don't tell me not to get worked up! There is something wrong with Haley, and you expect me to be _calm?_ What's wrong with you?" She yelled tearfully, watching as Lucas's car sped away.

"Brooke, I just meant-…"

"I need to get to the hospital right away!" Brooke interrupted, glancing for her purse, _shit I left it at the table inside! _Brooke saw Peyton rush past with Mouth and a few of the others on their way outside, following Haley to the hospital. Everyone else was crowded around the front foyer in this panic, leaving the dance hall bare for her to quickly run through to her table and grab her purse. _She had to get to the hospital quickly, she needed to see if Haley was okay; she needed to be there! _But as Brooke turned around, she found herself blocked by a chest. Brooke looked up annoyed to find Max looking back down at her with a frown.

"What?"

"You're not going anywhere Brooke,"

_You think I'm going to leave without getting my times worth, _Brooke felt a weird shiver run down her spine, "Max, what are you talking about?"

"I said, you're not going anywhere –anywhere but home that is," He repeated sternly.

Brooke glared at him, "And why the fuck is that?"

"Because I will _not _allow you to put our baby under anymore stress; I think that's been enough for tonight. I'll take you home, and I'll call Nathan in a few hours to find out how Haley is, okay?"

Brooke's eyes widened, "You actually think you can control me Max? Get outta my way, I'm going to the hospital and _you _can go home, _okay?_" She mocked, pushing past him.

But before she could get far, he grabbed her wrist, "That's enough Brooke, you're coming home with me right now," He instructed.

"Don't touch me!" Brooke hissed, pulling her hand out of his grasp forcefully; _What the hell are you doing Max! _Brooke couldn't help but shiver slightly, "Stop it, I need to see Haley,"

"It's wrong to put our baby through that!" He snapped.

"It's _wrong _to not be there for Haley!" She snapped back, her eyes in little slits.

Max sighed, his hands clutching his head in frustration, "Why can't you just be reasonable for once," He muttered exasperated, "I _know _you want to be there for Haley, but you need to start thinking of our baby too! Please Brooke-…"

"I don't have time for this Max, I know what's alright for me and _my _baby, _you _need to start staying in line." Brooke said sternly, pulling on her jacket, "That proposal stunt, what the hell _was _that?"

"Brooke I-…"

"No Max, I don't know what you think we are, or what you think you are in my life, and I guess a part of its my fault for letting you in, but get this straight Max, I _will not _marry you, and I _don't _love you, so please don't even _think _about that, or try shit like that again," Brooke stated seriously, "Now I'm going to the hospital-…"

Max watched her walk away, pain and confusion clouding his face, "Brooke, let me at least drive you,"

"Okay," She sighed nodding, "Hurry up!"

"I don't get it, why is the baby coming so soon!" Lucas demanded as the doctor walked out of Haley's room. They had been there for two hours now, and they had barely any news about what was going on. Brooke and Max had walked in an hour ago, and Lucas had smiled bitterly at the unhappy look on Max's face, but it wasn't enough to prevent his heart from beating fast in fear.

Nathan was walking back and forth in the waiting room, unable to sit still for even a second, Lucas could tell that every moment that passed, it was eating at him. Nathan looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, as if his life was holding on at a thin rope, and in a way… it was.

"You need to calm down, it's a premature birth, we tried to prevent labour, but the baby _is _coming, and all we can hope is that the baby would have developed enough to be able to live outside the womb, and the mother is having a tough time with this, this early labour is taking its toll on her body…" She trailed on, but Lucas had all the information he could take, the baby was at risk, and so was Haley, how could this have happened, how could things have gotten so bad for her, _was she having trouble in her pregnancy, did Haley have a warning about the risks of this pregnancy, had she been going through something and he hadn't even bothered to find out? How could he have neglected his best friend so much? How could he not know what was going on with one of the most important things in her life? He didn't even ask her how she was, what was going on in her life, he had been so busy being miserable and sulky and horrible to everyone that he didn't even bother with keeping up with his best friend. Haley, who had always stood by him, he didn't even know anything about her life anymore. _"Really, this is too early to see which way this is going to go, but we're trying our best to keep both mother and baby safe,"

Lucas felt a huge knot in his throat, and suddenly it was hard to breath. Lucas staggered back slightly at the thought, _could something happen to Haley, was she not gonna be okay? _He saw Peyton reach out for him, but he coiled away from her touch, "I need to… fresh air," he managed, chocking up as he half ran from the rest of them.

Lucas burst through the balcony doors, leaning against the railing as he took huge gulps of air. _How could things be so horrible in life, it seemed like no one was happy anymore. How much pain can there possibly be, until you can't feel it anymore. _Lucas sucked in his lips as he looked up into the dark night, a tear sliding down his cheek. A sob built up in his throat and he struggled to keep it down, _he had to be strong. _

He felt a hesitant hand on his shoulder, and Lucas turned to find a teary Brooke standing there. And the sob he tried so hard to keep in escaped through his lips and he wrapped his arms around her, "Brooke, H-Haley…"

Brooke wrapped her arms around his waist, burying herself into his arms, as she lightly rested her teary face against his chest, wetting his shirt in the process.

"I know Lucas, I know," She whispered, "But we got to be strong Luke, we have to be there for Nathan, he has his _wife and child _in there, and as much as it hurts, we have to look composed in front of him so he doesn't break with us."

"It's so hard," Lucas whispered into her hair, his tears trailing down his face, "I'm not strong enough to be strong anymore Brooke, I can't do it," He said honestly.

Brooke nodded, biting her bottom lip, "I know,"

They stayed there for awhile, holding each other in their arms, comforting each other, and themselves. It felt good, soothing even, to be in each other's arms, yet good things always come to an end and once again, they were interrupted.

"What the _hell?_"

Lucas and Brooke pulled away to find a glaring Peyton at the doorway, "What's going on here?"

Lucas saw pain and betrayal flash through Brooke's eyes, and then just as quickly, they turned back to the unemotional eyes from before.

"Brooke-…" Lucas began desperately.

"I was just leaving," She said, holding her chin up high, yet holding back tears. _That's why they could never work. That's why she would never go back to Lucas, and that's why they broke up in the first place. Why did she put herself in situations, where it became harder to walk away, what the hell was she thinking?_

Lucas watched sadly as she walked past Peyton and disappeared out of his sight.

Lucas sighed, as Peyton looked at him with eyes full of confusion and hurt, "Lucas-…"

Lucas turned his back on her, looking over the balcony again. _He didn't know what was wrong with him, the way he treated Peyton… she didn't deserve that, and he couldn't believe he was actually capable of it. But it didn't stop him, it didn't change him._

"Lucas, I came out here to check up on you, to comfort you, but you…" She trailed off in disgust, "Why are you doing this to me Luke?"

Lucas sighed, finally turning around, his eyes wet, and for the first time, Peyton noticed how worn out he looked, how tired and depressed he looked. This wasn't her Lucas, the one who was always so filled with life, the writer, the guy that loved her, and the guy she loved. He looked like the shell of him.

His eyes spoke volumes, even though he didn't utter a word for a moment, before his lips finally parted, "…I'm sorry." He finally whispered.

And Peyton knew it wasn't an apology for what she walked in on, it was a sorry for their relationship; it was a sorry for them.

Peyton shook her head, "No Luke," She managed.

Lucas didn't look away, "I'm so sorry," He whispered brokenly.

Peyton felt new tears form, before slowly sliding down her cheek, "Please," She begged. _She couldn't be without him, she couldn't imagine a life without him, she needed him… she loved him._

And as the two stood across each other in the cool wind and darkness, so many words were said, without actually being spoken. Lucas's apology ended their relationship, and Peyton's plead tried to save it. In her one word, she poured her heart out, begging for another chance, for Lucas not to end them.

But Peyton could just tell from the Lucas in front of her, that he had nothing left for her. But she wasn't ready to lose him.

"Lucas, just once, just tell me _why?_"

Lucas sighed, "Because I couldn't even be a friend to my best friend." He said simply, his eyes full of grief, "Because she's lying there fighting for her life, and that's what it took for me to remember her." He whispered, his lip quivering, "Because more then half the time I don't even listen to what you say, because not only don't I treat you like a girlfriend, I don't even treat you like a friend." He admitted shamefully, causing Peyton to cast her eyes downwards, "Because I don't know who I've become, because I don't think of anyone anymore, except…" Pain clouded Lucas's face, and he turned away from her again.

Peyton walked closer to him, "Except _who _Lucas?" She questioned, her face streamed with tears, "Except… _go on Luke,_" She insisted bitterly, "Who Lucas?" She asked again coolly.

Lucas shrugged, unable to face her anymore, "Except _her_," He admitted.

Peyton let her eyes close tightly, composing herself, "She's having another man's child,"

Lucas closed his eyes too, "I know," He managed in a strained and pain filled voice.

Peyton shook her head, brushing the wetness off her face, "This hurts," She whispered, referring to what he was doing to her.

"_This kills_,"

And Peyton knew he wasn't talking about her.

"I was the only one that was still looking out for you, you're a train wreck and no one's getting too close, I was the only one taking care of you," She whispered.

"I know, you were keeping me as close to sane as a possibly can manage," He agreed.

Peyton took a step to stand beside him, now both of them, side by side, staring out into the darkness, "You're gonna go crazy without me,"

"I'm gonna go crazy either way…" He whispered, "But I can't keep pulling you down with me."

Peyton laughed harshly, "Don't make this some sort of sacrifice to feel better,"

"This is a sacrifice. I'm letting go the one person that stood by me when I treated them like shit, the one person who was taking all my crap, the one person who I could lean back on without having to give them anything back. I was using you, and you were letting me, and letting that go is the biggest sacrifice. But I want to be your friend still Peyton, and this is the only way I can do that, by letting you go. Letting you go and find happiness with someone, and not drown you in my pain with me. I'm a lost cause, you can go be happy. You use to be so fun loving, so funny, so lively, and I took all that from you. Now you're bitter with my bitterness, and you're sad and alone, with my sadness and loneliness. You gotta go; you gotta distance yourself, because I have nothing to give you. And I had nothing to give my best friend."

"Lucas-…"

"I need to go check up on my best friend," He whispered, as he turned and walked away, leaving her standing watching after him.

**A/n Sorry for the long delay. My computer was busted -_- **

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, tiny bits of Brucas, but of course with much aghast! **

**Review!**


	24. Chapter 24

The whole night had passed, and since only one visitor was allowed in the waiting room, Nathan had stayed, while Lucas, Brooke, Peyton and Max had spent the night in Lucas's car.

Needless to say, it was beyond awkward for everyone involved, as Lucas had just dumped Peyton, punched Max, and cried and pleaded with Brooke.

But somehow they had established a quite rule, where no one spoke the whole night, and just dozed in and out of sleep. At the beginning, Max had persisted that Brooke go home because of her pregnancy, but when Brooke wouldn't budge, he put his anger and dignity aside to ask for a seat in Lucas's car. While they all had their own car's, Lucas was the only one who was able to get a spot in the underground parking, and since it was much colder to be crashing outside, they all opted for the smarter choice.

But Lucas had been totally out of it since last night. He didn't even scowl when Max got in his car, or when Max asked Brooke if she was comfortable, and asked, and asked, and asked. He hadn't even turned when his arm had brushed against Brooke's.

_How could this happen to Haley. How could he have been so careless, how could he not of even been there for his friend?_

And a part of Lucas felt that Haley's condition was his fault. He was to blame for what was happening to Haley.

Brooke glanced at Lucas from the side of her eye, and sighed inwardly. The past night had been the worst night she had ever had. Worrying about Haley, and not knowing anything was driving her crazy. It was so weird, knowing one of your closest friends was possibly hanging between life and death, and she couldn't do anything to help her. Add the awkward little group in this little car for the whole night, watching Lucas beat himself up inside, and wanting to reach out for him as well as get as far away as possible from him was getting out of control. Every time she saw a crease on his forehead, a part of her longed to reach out and bring her arms around him, but she wouldn't, there was a part of her that still didn't trust him, and of course another reasons being that his girlfriend and the father of her unborn baby were in the back seat of the car.

"It's eight, visiting hours started." Lucas muttered suddenly, in a voice that sounded so dead that Brooke wasn't sure it was him at first. And he had muttered it so low, she wasn't sure everyone had heard, but when she turned, she found Peyton and Max getting out of the car.

Brooke felt her hands go clammy, and her mouth dry, _Oh god, please let everything be okay with Haley and the baby. _She silently prayed as the four reached the waiting rooms to find it empty.

Brooke looked around alarmed, "Where's Nathan?"

Peyton cornered the first nurse that walked past them, "Excuse me, there was a guy waiting here, we all came in last night, his wife was in premature labour…" Peyton rambled in hurry.

It took mere seconds for the nurse to register who she was talking about, and quickly smiled at the panicky Peyton, "Yes, he's in with his wife right now,"

Lucas's eye widened slightly, finally an emotion lit up his face, "What happened?!" He demanded, "Is she okay, is the baby okay, w-what's going on?"

The nurse took a step back from him, "Everything is completely okay. The mother was able to give birth to her child successfully, and they are both recovering tremendously well."

Brooke felt a rush of wind through her, and without even realizing it, her hand found Lucas's and their fingers intertwined, _she was okay. Haley was okay, and so was the baby. Everything is okay! _

Brooke felt a sob of relief leave her lips, as Lucas pulled her into his arms letting out a cry of happiness, "Thank god, _thank you god!_" He muttered into her hair, squeezing her gently.

Brooke grinned, nodding, tears forming around her eyes, "Can we see her… them?" Brooke asked, looking at the nurse from Lucas's arms. And surprisingly, it felt so normal to be like that, to be wrapped in Lucas's arms, to have her cheek against his chest, it felt so awfully right, that she didn't even realize the look of pain that passed through both Max and Peyton's faces.

And when the nurse nodded, and allowed two visitors in at a time, Brooke and Lucas found themselves following her to the room, without even glancing at the other two.

Lucas entered the room, a relieved grin still etched on his lips as he took in the sight of a exhausted and weak looking Haley on the hospital bed, wrapped in the arms of an equally tired looking Nathan, but they were both smiling proudly down at their baby boy. Happiness so sincere and pure on their face, that Lucas felt that everything was right in the world for that second.

Their own sorrow and heartache forgotten as the two former lovers made their way towards the new parents, side by side.

And it was funny, because as the two shattered, heartbroken pair looked at the perfectly happy one, it felt like god was mocking them.

Haley looked up for the first time at the two, and smiled weakly at them, but that smile held the greatest happiness, and without any words she motioned them over to her child, before placing the baby into Brooke's outstretched arms. Lucas stayed where he was, his eyes never leaving Haley. Nathan looked between the two best friends, before finally excusing himself from the bed and huddling over his son with the awed Brooke.

"Luke," Haley whispered, thrusting her hand out to Lucas. His eyes never left hers, and for a moment he just stood there, before finally putting his hand in hers and letting her guide him closer, until Lucas finally took a seat next to her on the bed.

"_I'm so sorry,_" He whispered, his lower lips trembled slightly as he let that out.

Haley frowned at him, her hand slowly rising to press against his cheek, "Luke, why are you saying s-…"

"No Haley, I'm _so_ sorry for the past few months, I've been the furthest thing from a friend much less a best friend, and I deserted you when you were going through something so big in your life. And I hadn't asked you anything about what was going on, or how your pregnancy was, or how anything was. And you came to me so many times, and I just turned you away, or ignored you, Hales, I love you so much, yet I couldn't even-…"

"_Shh,"_ Haley shushed gently, "Don't make me a stranger by saying sorry. I love you Lucas, you're still my _best friend_, and you know I hate seeing you sad, much less sad because of me, or over me? Now stop being all dramatic and go see your godson," Haley grinned, pushing him playfully.

Lucas smiled slightly at her, putting his arms around her weak form, and pressing his lips against her temple, "You look so ugly right now," He whispered in her ear teasingly.

"Yeah well _you _always look ugly," She shot back grinning, before nudging him off her bed again.

Lucas looked up to find Nathan grinning idiotically at him, and Lucas laughed, "He looks much uglier," He teased, getting a mock scowl from Haley, but Nathan's grin didn't falter as him and Lucas hugged, and when Lucas pulled away he saw the water sparkling in Nathan's eyes.

"Congratulations Bro," Lucas said sincerely, he had never seen Nathan like this, look so utterly happy that there were actually _tears in his eyes_.

Nathan nodded, "Thanks man, last night was fucked-…"

"Hey don't swear in front of our baby!" Haley piped in.

Lucas laughed, but Nathan nodded solemnly, "It was a bad night," He corrected, "But it doesn't even matter because everything worked out perfectly in the end, I'm so happy man, I have a son, and the women I love," He grinned, looking down at Haley was so much adoration in his eyes, and Haley grinned just as happily back at him.

Lucas smiled at the pair, before turning to find their son- his godson, and he turned to find Brooke cradling the baby in her arms lovingly... And Lucas felt speechless. There was something about that scene that made his heart melt to pudding. Maybe it was the way Brooke looked down at the baby, as if there was nothing more important in the world, or the way her beautiful face almost sparkled with love, and standing there, five and half months pregnant, still wearing last nights dress with a sweater thrown over, her hair slipping out of her messy bun, makeup all over the place from crying last night… she looked absolutely stunning to him. And his feet moved forward automatically…

Brooke looked down at the cute little face, with the perfect fingers and toes, and she felt her heart skip a beat. What a little body, yet such a big part of someone's life. Brooke felt her attachment to the baby from the second she felt him in her arms. He was so perfect, and Brooke felt a flutter in her heart as she thought of her own unborn baby inside her. And for the first time, she couldn't wait for him or her. She knew that regardless of what part of life she was in, or what was happening, or who she was with or wanted to be with, or how she felt about his or her dad, she would love her baby with her whole heart. She knew at that second, as she held the baby boy in her arms, that she really wanted her baby.

_This baby will be miserable, because you're miserable. _

Brooke felt a squeeze at her heart, and before she could feel any pain, she felt a pair of arms wrap around hers and a chest press against her back. She looked back to find Lucas smiling down at the baby in their arms. Brooke watched his face turn one of admiration and love as he looked down at his godson, and suddenly… it made everything okay. She looked down at the baby too, leaning back into Lucas's chest.

Max watched the clock for the hundredth time, it had been half an hour, and the two had not come out of Haley's room yet. It wasn't that he wanted a turn to go see the new parents and baby, but the fact that Brooke went in with _Lucas_, the maniac that's been going killer on people recently, even though it was _him _that Brooke had come with, and _him _that took care of Brooke. But yet she still thought it was okay to be near a guy that had almost tried to rip him apart last night.

Just the thought of Brooke near him made Max's blood boil. _What the fuck was taking so long…_

Ten minutes later, when Brooke finally came out of the room to let Peyton go, he frowned deeply.

He didn't even look at her until they had driven home and Brooke was grabbing her vitamins from the cupboard.

"He's adorable," She smiled all in awe, which for some reason caused Max to get even angrier.

"_He's adorable?_" Max questioned infuriated, "And what about_ our baby?_ Did you forget about that or something?"

Brooke frowned, "Max, what-…"

"Are you _fucking kidding me? Don't even fucking what me! _Don't pretend like you don't know what the _fuck _I could possibly be mad about!" He finally exploded, kicking the side table in front of him, causing it to go crashing against the ground, and the lamp on it to shatter all over the place.

Brooke's eyes widened, "Max, what the fuck are you doing?"

"_What the fuck am I doing?_ Are you fucking nuts or something? You've been up Lucas's ass ever since he punched me, he's been a maniac for the last few months yet you think its okay to let him be all over you, and you've been fucking ignoring me all day, and you're asking me what the fuck _I'm _doing." He asked enraged, as he glared at her over the counter.

"Ok Max, calm the_ fuck_ down," Brooke yelled back, as she downed the vitamin before grabbing a water bottle and heading towards her room, "Talk to me when there's not a stick up your ass, okay,"

But as Brooke made to walk away, Max grabbed her arm roughly, "Who the fuck do you think you are?" He spat.

"_**You fucking whore, who the fuck do you think you are!"**_

Brooke felt a shiver run down her spine as she remembered his words from the past, before trying to shove away from him, "Let go of me!"

"_**Max, please just leave,"**_

Brooke felt her whole body shake as words caused vivid memories to fill her head again.

_**He grabbed her arms, pulling her against his hard chest roughly, "You think I'm going to leave without getting my times worth," he whispered, before he forcefully covered her mouth.**_

Max pulled her towards him, "You're not leaving until you explain yourself, what the fuck do you think you're doing, its not just you that you're responsible of Brooke, it's _our baby too_, so I'm sorry that I won't just sit back and let you do whatever the fuck you want, when I know that every stupid move you make effects _my baby!_" He yelled into her face, causing Brooke to turn her face away from the fury in fear.

"_**Half the people you slept with were while you or they were drunk and now you're pretending to care about that? Well I'm so sorry Davis, it aint gonna work today, today you're going to give me what I want," Max stated surely, an uncaring glint in his eyes.**_

"Max please just get away from me," Brooke begged, as she pushed his arms off her. It wasn't just the fact that he was acting so violent now; it was more the déjà vu she was feeling, which was causing her stomach to knot up in fear. _This was so familiar, he was so angry last time, he was grabbing at her forcefully, but he hadn't been like this for the last few months… he wasn't capable of this._

"Brooke?" Max asked, his face softening slightly at her fear, "Don't be scared, I just- I just want you to be safe, and our baby to be safe. You can't blame me for not wanting you to be near Lucas,"

"But I feel safe with _him!_" Brooke declared, looking up at him teary eyed, but instantly regretted it when his eyes hardened, and the grip he had one her arms tightened.

".," He managed between clenched teeth, "I fucking _feed _you; I _shelter_ you; I _take care _of you; I work like a fucking dog to keep _you _happy, and you're telling me you feel fucking safe with _him?_"

"Max-…"

"Have you fucking forgotten? _He called you a whore _in front of our whole school_, _he _kicked you out of his house, _when you were _pregnant, _and he has acted out so violently in front of you, where he has _no control_ over himself! Are you fucked in the head or something? You feel safe with a fucked up maniac, but the person who has done _everything _to make you happy, you treat like shit?" He yelled in her face, where she could feel his breath on her.

Brooke felt her heart pound painfully fast in her chest, and a tear slipped her eyes as she shut her eyes closed.

"_**Are you crying now? C'mon babe, you know I didn't want to do this. If you had just cooperated, things would've been different. It's your fault you know?" he whispered in her ear.**_

"Brooke, why the fuck are you crying?!" Max demanded in frustration, "All I want is what's best for you and our baby, stop making me feel like the fucking bad guy. This is _your fault_; I'm not doing anything wrong!" He insisted, shaking her to look at him.

"_**I feel a little bad you know. I mean, seeing you so helpless, and you won't stop crying, just stop making me feel like a monster! It's not my fault I want you so bad,"**_

"I even fucking asked you to marry me! I want us to be a family, I want our child to be raised with both his or her parents, I just want us to be happy, but you make it so god damn difficult!"

Brooke didn't respond, as sobs were now leaving her lips, making it harder for her to breath, "S-stop," She managed between sobs, helplessly struggling in his arms. _He had treated her so horribly, he had taped her mouth and hands before he had ravaged her like a piece of meat. How could she have pushed that out of her conscience? How could she have let him stay with her, take care of her, touch her? How could she have let him think he had any right over her or the baby, how could she have let things get so far where she was basically living with her rapist? _

"_**Exactly what I said. Why the hell are you acting like a fucking prune with me? You've given it to other guys, then why you hesitating now?"**_

_How could she have forgotten his cruel words, the way he had treated her, bruised her…_

_**He leaned down to her, kissing her neck again. When she tried to move, he sighed in annoyance, as he punched her in the eye, making her vision go blurry, and a scream escape her lips.**_

And before Brooke knew it, she had broken down, had Max's tight grip not been holding her up, she would've been on the ground. She sobbed limply in his grasp, so much despair and agony in her voice, that Max loosed his hold and cradled her in his arms, "Brooke, oh god Brooke, stop crying, please don't cry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry, I just- I just wanted you to hear me out, I just wanted you to realize that you were wrong, and I just- I- Brooke please stop," He whispered, running his hand down and up her back soothingly as she trembled in his arms, "I just want you to stay away from Lucas,"

"I can't!" Brooke said between sobs, pushing away from him.

Max watched as she tried to gather herself, her violent trembling slowly calming down, and her sobs eliminating to sniffs now, "But _why? _Why can't you just stay away from him!" Max demanded, trying his hardest to keep from yelling again. He wanted to shake some sense into her, to force her to listen to him, but he had to keep his cool, "Brooke I love you, I wasn't lying, I really do, and I love our child, I don't want either of you hurt, and I don't trust Lucas, and I don't like him, all I'm asking is for you to just stay _away from him_, that's not that hard Brooke,"

"Just _shut up _Max!" Brooke finally screamed, "Just shut the fuck up! You're so _stupid!_ You don't know anything! You tell me you care for me and the baby, but here you are shaking the life outta me, and holding me forcefully, and breaking me into tears, do you really think that's "best for me pregnancy"," She mocked, quoting his own line, "You don't give a fuck about me, because it doesn't matter to you what I want!"

"I do care about what you want-…"

"Well then its not _you!_ I _don't_ want to marry you, I _don't_ want you in my life, and I _don't_ want you in my child's life, do you fucking hear me!" She exploded, hitting his shoulder to push him away from her, "And I don't want you trying to control my life! Don't tell me who I can and cannot hang out with, don't tell me what's best for me, and don't tell me Lucas is a fucking maniac because _you raped me!_"

Max fell quiet, his eyes widening, "Brooke-…"

"You're the fucking maniac; you keep going on about how he called me a whore? _You also called me a whore!_ You keep talking about how he's been beating people up, _you _beat _me up! _You talk about how he's not trustable; you fucking _raped _me when we were going out!"

"I _know!_ And you don't think I haven't thought about that every single fucking day? And I think I have taken responsibility for my actions more then anyone could! I gave you a place to stay, food to eat, taken you to every doctor visit, left at any time around the fucking clock when you had a craving! Most rapist's rape the fucking girl, and never fucking see her again, but _me _I made a fucking mistake, I apologized and I've taken care of you when no one else would even look at you!"

Brooke shook her head in disgust, and turned to leave, when Max grabbed her arm again and pulled her around to face him, "And I fucking _love _you, and I want to _marry _you!" He yelled, "Do you hear me, I want to be with you, I want to take care of you for the rest of our lives!"

"_I don't want to be with you!_ I want to be with LUCAS!" Brooke burst out finally, and just as those words left her lips, Max let go of her arms and stumbled back slightly in shock.

"Brooke…" He whispered.

_She had finally admitted it, it was finally out. She hadn't even admit it to herself for so long, that she had surprised herself with this outburst, but she knew in her heart it was true. It didn't matter if he had hurt her before, it didn't matter that he had been with Peyton; all that mattered was that she still wanted to be with him. That as much as he hurt her, it hurt so much more not being with him. She knew he loved her, she saw it in his eyes, she saw his heartbreak that matched her own, and she was done with it. She wanted to be with him, she wanted to raise her baby with him. She wanted her life with him._

She looked up at Max bravely, "Yeah Max, I love L-…" But before she could finish she felt his fist connect with the side of her face with so much force that she fell backwards clutching her face, and a scream of agony left her lips.

"Don't you fucking _dare_," He threatened, towering over her.

Brooke felt a tremor leave her lips, and she backed away from him on the ground, "M-max," She began.

He grabbed her arm roughly, and pulled her up to crush her against his chest, "You and the baby _belong to me._" He stated with his eyes fury red.

Brooke felt a shiver of fear run down her spine, as she clutched her stomach protectively. _There was no way she could let Max anywhere near her child, no fucking way._

"I've been Mr. Nice Guy for a long time now and it doesn't seem to be getting me anywhere. So if you want this version of me, then I can give you this version of me, do we have that clear." He whispered in her ear, "But if you behave then we can go one like we were before. Just stay the fuck away from Lucas, don't mention him ever again, and we'll be fine, okay?"

_There was no way she could get away from him like this; he had hit her… if she kept reacting like that it would only get worse. She had to find another way, another way to get as far away from him as possible, and go tell Lucas the truth about everything. About the way Max had raped her, had hit her. She had to save her baby from Max._

Brooke looked around the room quickly, _she had to change tactics._

_Maybe she could call for help? _But then Brooke remembered the last time she had tried that…

"_**Oh hell no," Max snickered, as he grabbed the phone out of her hand and threw it hard against the ground. He pulled out the cable with a mock pout.**_

But then Brooke's eyes landed on the vase full of flowers on the kitchen counter, _she'll have to do something she hadn't been able to do last time._

"Okay," Brooke whispered obediently, and let him bring her into his arms in embrace.

_Perfect, _Brooke reached out for the vase on the counter behind him, but her fingers weren't even close enough to brush the vase. Brooke scowled; _she would have to do things a little different. _Brooke pulled back from the hug and looked up into Max's eyes, "You're were right Max,"

"About what?"

"_You _have taken care of me and our baby better then anyone else could've," She whispered, a fake smile growing on her lips, "Maybe you and I wouldn't be such a bad idea," She purred, raking his back with her fingers gently, "Maybe it could be _fun,_" She said, biting her bottom lip.

Max's eyes widened, shocked at her sudden change, but certainly not complaining, he had wanted this from day one; a small smile grew on his lips, "Whaddya mean?"

Brooke leaned on her tiptoes and let her breasts press against his chest firmly, "I think you know what I mean," She whispered suggestively, as she took his bottom lip between her teeth gently, causing a deep growl from Max, and he stepped back slightly at the force she was putting on him.

"I'm sorry for how I treated you Brooke, I just want us to be together like this. I'm glad you've finally come to your senses," He whispered, as his hands slid down from his hold on her waist to grip her ass, and his lips dropped to the skin between her neck and shoulders, and he bit down on that softly, before sucking on it, "I could make you forget all about that asshole Brooke, I could make you feel so good," He whispered, as he trailed kisses up her neck and back to her lips.

Brooke felt disgusted; his hands cupping her ass and his lips on her wanted to make her throw up, but she faked a moan instead, her hand reaching out for the vase again to see if she gained any leverage. Now she felt the vase brush the tip of her fingers.

"Brooke, I want you so bad," He groaned, "I've wanted you for so long, I can't wait any longer,"

Brooke made a sour face, but when he pulled back to look at her she quickly replaced it with a seductive look, and let her hands go up his shirt to touch his bare chest slowly, all the while slowly trying to push him back slightly, causing his eyes to cloud over in lust, "I want you too," She whispered, her tongue brushing over his lips as they parted in anticipation.

One hand left her ass to unzip her sweater, and he pulled it off her to leave her standing in the dress she had worn to the dance, and then his arm went around her waist to gain access to the zipper at the back.

But Brooke distracted him by covering his mouth with hers hungrily, and pushing him backwards towards the counter, he groaned in her mouth as his back pressed against the counter. _Perfect, now all she had to do was reach around him to get a grip on the vase, _but as Brooke went to do that, he quickly turned them around so her back was against the counter before lifting her quickly so that she was sitting on the counter and to Brooke's dismay, knocked her against the vase so it fell and went skidding down the counter, "You know, the doctor said sex was good for a pregnant women," He mumbled in her mouth as his hands started to make their way up her dress.

Brooke clenched her jaw as she brought his head to the crock of her neck to let him nibble on her skin as her eyes scanned the distance between her and the vase now. _Shit, _she cursed inside when she realized the vase was lying against the sink now, _how the fuck am I going to get it now? _

"Max," She moaned, causing him to look up at her, as he kissed her jawbone, "You wanna know what I really want? I want you… to take off my panties with your _teeth_," She purred in his ear, causing him to shiver slightly.

_It was funny how being almost six months pregnant, didn't take away from her power of seduction at all._

He smirked at her, before bringing his lips to her once more and shoving his tongue into her mouth hungrily, and though Brooke wanted to gag, she massaged his tongue with hers before pulling away and leaning back on the counter, remaining propped up with her elbows. He kissed her lips gently once more before going down to place butterfly kisses down her throat, "I…" he licked her throat slowly, "love…" he kissed his way down to the uncovered cleavage, sucking at her skin gently, "You," He whispered, his breath cool on her wet skin, before finally making his way down to her leg, where he began to kiss her thighs slowly.

She faked a few moans as she turned her attention to the vase once more; it worked perfectly, _leaning back on the counter brought her close enough to the vase, _so Brooke slowly reached out and enclosed her fingers around the vase, she sat back up bringing it behind her back, and pulling Max's face back up from his way up her thighs, to her face with a finger below his chin, "Kiss me," She whispered lustfully, causing him to groan painfully, before bringing his lips to hers once more, and just as his tongue begged for entrance in her mouth, she brought the vase around to behind his head.

There was a moment of hesitation;

_**Brooke sobbed silently as he kissed his way down her neck, and tore off her blouse violently. Brooke whimpered when she felt his hands go down to her skirt. He pulled it off effortlessly, his hands roaming her body with viciousness of an animal. **_

And Brooke brought the vase down over his head with as much force as she could possibly muster; it broke over his head, causing him to yell out painfully as he clutched the back of his head and kneeled to the ground.

A cool satisfaction spread through her as she slid off the counter and looked down at his hands full of blood from his head, and yelling in agony, "Go fuck yourself Max, you piece of fucking shit," Brooke cried tearfully, "I _hate _you and I honestly never want to see your face ever again, unless its fucking butchered! _Rot in hell you fucking bastard!_" She screamed, before grabbing her purse and running towards the door.

"BROOKE!" He screamed from the ground, stumbling to his feet with his hands still at the back of his head, before tripping uselessly. Brooke didn't turn, as she slammed the door behind her and made for her car.

As soon as she was in her car, Brooke let out a strangled sob of emotion before looking down at her belly and placing her hand against it affectionately, "I'm so sorry I'm putting you through this baby_" _She whispered, regaining her breath before starting the car. But as she was about to put the car in reverse, she stopped to quickly pull on her seatbelt, "I'll keep you safe, I promise,"

And just as she started to reverse, she could see Max leaving the apartment from the side of her eye, and quickly pulled out of the parking lot without glancing twice.

Brooke fumbled with her purse as she drove, and fished out her purse before dialling the familiar number;

"Brooke?"

"Luke!" Brooke whispered in her quivering voice, "Luke I need your help!"

"Brooke what's wrong?" Lucas asked alarmed, "Brooke where are you?"

"I'm ten minutes from the bridge, please come quickly, _please Luke_," She begged, trying hard not to cry.

"I'm coming!" He stated, and she could hear the noise of him unlocking his car door, "What's wrong Brooke?"

Brooke opened her mouth to tell him, when she saw Max's car through her side mirror gaining on her and she fumbled with her cell phone in surprise, she quickly put it against her ear, "He's after me! Please hurry Luke, _please!_" She pleaded one last time before letting the cell fall from her ear and she picking up speed.

"Wait! Brooke! _Whose after you?!_" He yelled, but he didn't get a reply, "Oh fuck!" Lucas yelled, as he reversed out of his driveway and towards the bridge much faster then the speed limit allowed.

_She sounded so scared, so fucking scared. He had to get there, he had to save her! She needed him._

_Who the fuck was after her? Who ever it was that was scaring her so bad was gonna get fucked up._

His heart was racing in fear, and he picked up the acceleration more and more with every second that passed, he kept the phone against his ear because she hadn't cut the phone, and he could hear her fearful heavy breathing, and little sobs every once in a while, which caused him to get angrier and angrier.

"_I'm so sorry baby, I'm so sorry for doing this to you! I'm so sorry you have to go through this, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'll keep you safe, I promise I'll keep you safe, no one's gonna hurt you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,"_ She kept whispering to herself, and he knew she was talking to the baby.

_Brooke and the baby will both be safe; he won't let anyone hurt either of them._

Brooke kept glancing at her side mirrors, the fear building inside her chest with every second that passed, _Luke please hurry! _

This time when Brooke looked in her mirror, she could tell that his car was too close to hers, and soon she felt a bump against her car causing her car to startle forward, Brooke opened her window, "STOP IT!" She yelled desperately, but this time when she turned her face back towards the road, she saw an unaware kid bouncing his basketball in direct path of her car, "SHIT!" She yelled, before turning her wheel suddenly in the opposite direction, straight at the side railing of the bridge…

"_STOP IT!" _Lucas heard Brooke yell, as he neared the bridge; _who the fuck is following her? _

"_SHIT!" _She screamed for the last time before he heard screeching tires, and he neared the bridge just in time to see her car break through the side and fly into the air for seconds that felt like forever… before crashing against the water beneath.

"_BROOOOOKE!"_ Lucas yelled, and he felt his heart stop…

**A/n A lot of things happened, and very quickly! **

**Will he be able to do anything to save Brooke?... and the baby?**

**And will Lucas finally find out about Max?**

**And Max? … : | **

**You're gonna have to wait till the next chapter!**

**More reviews = faster update!**

**So leave me a review and lemme know what you think!**


	25. Chapter 25

Lucas couldn't feel his heart beat anymore, and for a second, there was no air to inhale and he felt like he was drowning. _His. Brooke. Bridge. Water. Save_

"BROOOOKE!" Lucas finally yelled, his car skidding to a stop in front of the break in the bridge before he stumbled out, and without a moment of hesitation, he found himself jumping in after her.

The cold water hit him like a brick wall, and he had to come back up for breath right away, gasping for air, water sputtering out of his mouth and nose as gravity pulled him downwards, _if he couldn't breath, Brooke… _

Lucas dived back in and he saw the car floating downwards in the freezing water, _so… cold… so… cold; Brooke Brooke Brooke, _determination set in as Lucas swam towards it. Lucas could feel the lack of oxygen in his draining mouth and knew he had to go back up, but he couldn't, _every second he wasted could be a second too late. _

"_**I was afraid of getting my heart broken again, like before... You hurt me so bad, I was afraid to be vulnerable. And I was afraid of you and the way that you make me feel."**_

Her teary vulnerable face entered his mind, and he found himself kicking his legs harder against the water, _Brooke, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!_

Lucas found the door to her car and he saw an unconscious Brooke inside; He pulled at the door desperately, his fear building as his oxygen decreased, _it was locked!_

"_**It's just that, you're the first great guy I've dated and that really scares me because I never gave a rat's ass before. Ok, but I do now."**_

_Cold, need air, cold, need air! _His body and mind screamed at him, as he felt energy drain from his body slowly. But his heart had a plan of its own, and it ignored all rational thought and pulled at the door with all the power he managed. _She wouldn't leave him mind, even when he was freezing in ice water and had no oxygen to breath, why was she still haunting his thoughts now, why couldn't he stop thinking about her._

_Her face, her words… they came at him again and again, making him swim faster with every second that passed…_

"_**I'm the guy for you. I know we're just part-time, that's cool. You know, do whatever, have your fun. But one of these nights you're gonna realize it; I'm the guy for you Brooke Davis…. You'll see"**_

_I won't let you go Brooke, I promise, I __**am**__ the guy for you, and I'm going to save you, I'm not going to let anything happen to you… I promise. _

Lucas struggled with sticking his hand through her open window to unlock the door before finally throwing it open and pulling at Brooke only to find her strapped in her seatbelt.

"_**What I wanted? I wanted you to fight for me!"**_

Lucas pulled at her seat belt, his body begging for oxygen, commanding him to swim back up before it was too late for him, _I __**will **__fight for you Brooke, until my dying breath… I swear._

But the seat belt wouldn't budge, her body was floating away from the seat, but her belt was keeping her in place, and the car pulling them downwards was making it hard for Lucas to find the buckle, _Fuuuuuck! _Lucas felt his eyes sag closed momentarily,

"_**I'm not pushing you away Lucas, I am holding on for dear life, but I need you to need me back."**_

_He had to get her out; _he felt like he was drifting in and out of consciousness as he faintly registered trying to take off her belt as the car pulled them deeper and deeper down; _he needed her… _

He felt the belt loosen and he quickly pulled it off her, glancing toward Brooke's unconscious face, _hold on Brooke, just hold on, _and he felt a glimmer of energy, _nothing could take his Pretty Girl from him, he wouldn't let it! _

"_**I love you Broody,"**_

Lucas pulled her floating body towards him, a hand under her knees and another gripping her back as he pushed himself upwards with his foot against the windshield, before struggling to swim towards the surface, his clothes heavily weighing on him now.

He couldn't even see the light at the surface, _how deep down were they? _

"…**And sometimes I just wish you could rescue me."**

Lucas was struggling for the last bit of oxygen his mouth held, _..Brooke._

His legs kicked and pushed harder then he thought humanly possible, holding Brooke close, _the surface, _he saw the light, he saw the surface of the water, _just get Brooke there…_

And that's when his eyes closed, _all he saw was white, he felt like he was having an out of body experience, as if he had no control on his body anymore; _and his mouth fell open to let in all the water that had been threatening him for so long, and with the last ounce of energy he pushed Brooke up to break the surface right before gravity sucked his limp form back down.

" _**People that are meant to be, always find their way back in the end..."**_

And then everything went blank…

Max ran onto the bridge, after abandoning his car in the filled parking lot at the church nearby. _Oh shit, oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck! Brooke wasn't supposed to- his baby wasn't supposed to- he hadn't meant to…_

Max squinted at the police cars, ambulances, fire trucks that crowded the bridge within minutes, and a crowd of cars formed around the broken bridge as he pulled his wool hat tighter around his bleeding head, before throwing his hoodie over it. Max quickly scanned the place, _they hadn't gotten Brooke out yet, and neither had Lucas._

Max frowned, remembering the sight of Lucas's car driving onto the bridge from the opposite side just as Brooke had dodged the little boy, for a second his heart had stopped beating, but when he realized that Lucas's shocked eyes were glued to Brooke's car only, he had luckily been able to reverse off the bridge quickly, and Max doubted Lucas had spared him a glance as he had flung himself off the bridge after her, but he couldn't be too sure… _what if Lucas had recognized him?_

Max watched nervously at the stilled water beneath them, waiting for a sign of Brooke, or even Lucas. _Please god let Brooke come up, let her and my baby be okay! I didn't mean for that to happen, I didn't want something bad to happen to her, I just wanted her to listen to me, to be with me, I didn't think things would get this bad… I wasn't thinking at all, but Brooke has to be okay, she has to!_

He couldn't believe Lucas had jumped after her, _why didn't he jump after her? He had a child and the mother of his child down there, not Lucas, yet Lucas jumped? _Max knew Lucas had some obsession or possessive feelings towards Brooke, but he hadn't known it was to this extreme, _he jumped in the freezing deep water after her, _and Max wasn't even sure if _he _would've done that.

But Lucas shouldn't make it. If Lucas made it, then if he saw Max, he could get Max into a lot of trouble. He could deal with Brooke, heck she hadn't even told anyone about the rape, he could get her to keep her mouth shut about him chasing her, but Lucas; Lucas would never let Max off the hook, he would make things worse even. Lucas couldn't make it, because Max couldn't risk it.

And every second that ticked, he prayed for Brooke and baby to be okay, and for Lucas to not make it.

"Why aren't they up yet?" Max muttered under his breath, as he saw search teams jump into the water, _what the fuck took them so long! _

But just as a few of them jumped in the water, a few feat away he saw Brooke break the surface, and he heard yelling of instructions and directions from the policemen, but he wasn't listening, _Brooke would be okay!_

She went back down in the water, and Max stepped forward, but he saw a search member bring her back up again, and Max noticed that she was unconscious and had a deep cut to her head. _Brooke!_

_And no Lucas, exactly what he wanted._

Maybe no one knew about him being down there, maybe-…

"A boy jumped in after her!" He head a policemen shout towards the other men, as he got up from kneeling in front of the little boy that had gotten in Brooke's way.

Max didn't pay attention after that; his eyes followed the unconscious Brooke being placed on the stretcher and into the ambulance. _He had to get to the hospital!_

"Oh shit, I think there's a bad crash on the bridge…" Nathan muttered, glancing at Peyton who sat in the passengers seat, "It's causing the cars to all stop because the police and ambulance is almost blocking the whole bridge," he sighed, _shit, all he wanted to do was go home and get a good nights rest so he could go back to the hospital when visiting hours started the next morning. But of course, not thing ever went as planned. _"I don't know how long it's gonna take, fuck fuck fuck!"

"Shit." Peyton muttered, as Nathan slowed down behind the crowd of cars, before looking out the side window, _how could Lucas dump her last night? After everything they have gone through together, after how much they loved each other… how could he just stop loving her? For someone who was pregnant with another man? What the hell was going on with him, he was turning crazy. And it hurt so much, because even though he had been a really crap boyfriend, she still loved him and wanted to be there for him to help him back up from his fallen place. She loves him so much, how could he ignore that, and walk away…_

She felt Nathans sympathetic hand on her thigh, and she looked up at his eyes full of pity, "Peyton-…"

"I'm fine, Nate _I'm fine_, don't worry about me," Peyton said quickly, realizing for the first time that there were tears pooling around her eyes, and she embarrassedly brushed them away.

"It's okay to feel sad," He whispered, glancing up when a car in front of him moved and he let go of the breaks to fill in the gap with his car, "What happened to you was unfair, but wouldn't you rather it end then to drag meaninglessly, because you deserve so much better! And it might not feel like what happened was for the best, but it was, you deserve _so _much better!" He insisted.

Peyton shook her head, "But I loved _him_, I don't want _better,_" She sighed shrugging, "Because as bad as he was these last few months, he was still the guy that had the heart of gold, he was still the guy that I fell madly in love with, he was still the guy I lost my best friend for, twice,"

Nathan winced, "I know,"

"And I know that it was a horrible thing to do, and that I hurt Brooke really badly, and I really do feel bad about that, but it was my heart, really, in my heart, I always felt like he was the one… and I still do," Peyton mumbled, brushing the tears off her cheeks again, "I'm sorry Nate, I know I'm going all emo on you, I'm sorry," She laughed in embarrassment as she brushed both of her eyes.

Nathan shook his head, "Peyton, its okay, honestly. You're my friend, and you're allowed to break down and be emo, or bitch, or vent, it all comes with the friendship thing," He smiled, causing Peyton to smile back.

"Thanks, but let's drop it for now. I need a good nights cry to slowly pull myself back together, and I will be so embarrassed later if I totally go soap opera on you,"

Nathan nodded, as they neared the ambulances slowly, "Shit, the bridge is broken, I think a car went through the side," Nathan gasped, straining his neck to try and look around some cars, "The person must've gotten fuuucked,"

Peyton nodded, looking in the direction as well, "I wonder who it was?" Before she groaned, "Oh my fucking god, turn _off _these fucking _love songs!_" She groaned, fiddling with the radio station.

Nathan laughed, "That's Haley's favourite station-…"

Peyton switched to the next station, _'It's a love story, baby just say yes!' _And she groaned louder, before switching it again, "Stupid fucking stations, do they not have any normal ones that play songs about independence, loving yourself… or stupid fucked up asshole ex boyfriends?"

Nathan didn't respond, "Hey you said I could vent!" Peyton declared, looking up at Nathan, but trailed off when she noticed his shocked face, his whole body stiff, his chest heaving up and down quickly, and his mouth hanging open slightly in agony, Peyton gasped, grabbing onto his arm, "_Nathan_, what's wrong, oh my god Nathan?" Peyton asked, trying to get him to look at her, but he didn't budge.

Peyton frowned, following his eyes back towards the accident, some cars had cleared so that now they had a perfect view of the scene, _what did Nathan see? _A few people stepped back to allow the stretcher to make toward the ambulance, and that's when Peyton's face drained and her heart fell in her chest.

_It was Lucas… and he wasn't moving._

**A/n Read and Review!**

**Tremendous amount of thanks to:**

pink5288, BDavisLScott23, PeterClaire, Princesakarlita411, keko0930, dianehermans, Long Live BRUCAS, princetongirl, adeeskate, sunshine;

**Seriously, you're reviews mean the a lot to me (L)**


	26. Chapter 26

Haley slowly brushed her hand along her son's forehead and felt a calming sensation in her heart; _everything was going to be okay. They were going to be the perfect family, the perfect parents, their perfect son… everything._

But Haley felt a sad smile spread across her lips as she recalled back to Lucas's pitiful face from earlier. _He hadn't been the best friend he should've been through this, when she found out she was having complications, she didn't get to go to Lucas, when she was scared about her pregnancy in the middle of the night and didn't want to worry Nathan, she didn't get to call up Lucas. He wasn't there for her, his body was there, but he was emotionally lost. _Haley sighed, remembering how he was, _but as hurt and disappointed as she'd been, she missed him most. She missed her best friend, she missed their long night talks, she missed their humour, and most of all their friendship. But she had finally seen some life in his eyes today, when he had stood there looking down at her, with Brooke by his side, she could see splotches of her old Lucas in his eyes. And that was all she needed to know that she was close to getting her best friend back. They have to slowly work their way back. Haley knew it would take time, but she was ready to put in that effort now, she was ready to build back to their amazing friendship. She loved Lucas, and she could see that he missed her too._

Haley watched as her son twitched slightly, and she smiled at him, "Your uncle Luke and I are best friends, we started high school together, and we were together before we met any of the rest of the gang, _even before I really met your dad_," She whispered, "And next to your daddy, I love this guy with all of my heart, he's really and truly amazing, his heart is so beautiful and pure, he's one of the greatest guys I know, seriously. And I hope you turn out just like him," She murmured against her sons forehead, before placing a gentle kiss against it, and looked up when one of the nurses came in to take her son.

"Mrs Scott, we're going to have to take the baby now, you're both still recovering, we can't have him off the machine for long, we want to keep him monitored for the night," She said politely, checking the IV in Haley's hand, and glancing at the machines.

Haley nodded, her heart falling slightly as she passed her son to the nurse, _she never wanted to let go of her son ever; she wanted to keep him in her arms, and watch his face forever. Her arms felt so empty when she gave away her son now, she felt incomplete._

Haley sighed, before scanning the room for some distraction from her sinking heart; _maybe I'll call-…_

"_Nathan?_" Haley asked surprised, looking up at him barging into her room, his face full of agony she'd never seen on him before, "_What's wrong?_" Haley demanded, a feeling on suffocation building its way up her throat as she watched those eyes.

"Haley, baby," He greeted distracted, kissing her forehead in attempts to keep her calm but Haley pulled away in alarm, "No baby, nothing's wrong," He whispered, an arm around her, his body trembling slightly.

"Nathan Scott, tell me what's wrong _right now!_" She almost shrieked; fear etching into her face as she looked up at her husband who was nothing like his collected self; he looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"N-nothing, nothings wrong," He muttered, as if he didn't even know what he was saying himself, "I-I need you to calm down baby, please for me, you need to calm down," He begged, looking at her monitors that were beeping at the change of activity in her heart.

"NATHAN! TELL ME!" She screamed, _why wasn't he telling her, what could be so wrong that he looked like that, what happened, __**why wasn't he telling her! **_"Is it our son?" Haley asked, her mouth falling open.

He looked down at her as if finally hearing what she was saying, "Oh no, baby no, it's not our baby; he's fine, totally and completely perfect!" He insisted in reassurance, but the look in his eyes didn't disappear, and while Haley had sighed in relief, it didn't help; he was still as pale as a ghost, and looked like a child utterly confused and in pain.

"What's going on in here?"

Haley ignored the nurse, her eyes never leaving Nathan's, "What happened?"

"Ok, you need to leave, _now!_" The nurse instructed, but Nathan didn't move, he stayed glued to his spot, his eyes locked with hers.

"Excuse me, you're causing her stress which is not what she needs right now, you need to step outside," The nurse repeated.

"Nathan, please tell me what's wrong," Haley begged, as the nurse fiddled with her IV and from the side of her eye she saw her inject something into it, _fuck._

"NATHAN TELL ME!" She yelled.

And Nathan moved startled, as if finally breaking from a daze, his eyes opening in surprise as he saw the scene in front of him and finally heard the nurse, "Haley, baby everything's fine, please calm down, you need to calm down," He whispered, kissing her forehead, "I'm just going to be outside, I'll be here when you wake up okay, baby get some rest, everything's fine," he insisted, as he stepped backwards towards the door.

"Nathan-…" But she couldn't fight it, that's the last she remembered before the drug finally kicked in and she couldn't help but let her eyes close out everything else.

Nathan stumbled out of her room and fell back against the wall across the hall, _what the fuck did I just do? _

His eyes were open in shock, and he watched as they drugged her to sleep to calm her down after the way he worked her up, _did he just put Haley in danger with his stupidity? Why the hell did he go in there?_

Truth was, Nathan still felt like everything was a daze, and after him and Peyton had followed Lucas's ambulance here, and he found out about Brooke being there as well, both unstable, both in surgery, he didn't know how to handle himself.

His brother and his friend were both in emergency, he had followed his brother's lifeless body to the hospital_; that horrible accident him and Peyton had seen earlier had been Lucas and Brooke? _When he had seen Lucas, the glimpse he gotten of him, _he wasn't breathing, he wasn't fucking breathing! _Nathan didn't know what to do, he had barely registered calling Karen and his mom, and then trying to reach Brooke's parents.

_Brooke. _

He had only found out when he got here that Brooke was at the hospital too, and a wide-eyed Max told him how her car had gone through the bridge, _oh my god, she's pregnant, and her car went through the bridge? _

Nathan still didn't know how to deal with it all, and that's why he had gone to the one person he could always go too, the one person that always understood without even him having to say anything, and he had barged into her room without even thinking, too overwhelmed with emotion. And he honestly didn't realize anything happening, or going on, all his actions had been done absentmindedly, he felt like he was still in a daze.

He felt his back slide down the wall until he was in a crouching position, and Nathan buried his face in his hands, _could they actually die?_

He just remembered Brooke's dimpled smile, how she always seemed to be so filled with life, so cheery, so beautiful… she couldn't really be fighting for her life right now?

And Lucas… his step brother Lucas, he had hated him for half his life, but now that he had finally gotten to know him, he was his _brother_, he was the guy he could confide in, the guy he could vent too, the guy he could be weak in front of. _He couldn't lose his brother when he has just found him. _

Nathan couldn't imagine life without either of them. And before he knew it, Nathan felt tears squeeze past his eyelids and slide down his cheek.

Nathan felt a hesitant hand against his shoulder, causing him to look up to find Karen looking back at him, her eyes clear with pooled tears and fear on her face, "Nathan, where is Lucas, _what happened?_" She asked, almost afraid of the answer.

Nathan stood up slowly, this was going to be the hardest part, "Karen," He sighed, not wanting to tell her as much as she didn't want to hear it, "I followed his ambulance here, and as soon as he came the nurses rushed him into surgery, they haven't come out yet, surgery is still going on, a-and, I-I really don't know, they haven't said anything, no one's saying anything," He finished, chocking slightly on his words.

Karen took it all in with a still face, calm and collected as she took a deep gulp, "How did he look?" She asked slowly.

"Karen-…" Nathan began, shaking his head before she interrupted him, knowing what he would say.

"Nathan, how did my son look when you saw him?" She repeated sternly.

Nathan looked away for a moment, he didn't want to tell her; how could he tell her that he saw Lucas as if he was dead, as if it was a lifeless body, no mother could ever take that.

"Nathan!" She yelled, and he looked up to find tears trailing down her cheek, "You need to tell me, _how did Lucas look!"_ She half screamed.

_I'm so sorry Karen, _Nathan looked down at his shoes, "He wasn't breathing," He finally whispered.

She didn't speak, and for a second Nathan wasn't sure she had heard him so he looked up opening his mouth to speak, but he stopped himself when he saw her, she was frozen, there was no emotion on her face but there was no doubt in his mind that she didn't hear; it was the face of a child who was left in the dark, it was the face of a man that saw the love of his life in bed with another man… it was the face of a mother who had her child ripped from her arms.

And Nathan didn't know what to say. He felt his heart go out to the mom in front of him, but the grief he saw on her face, he knew that there was nothing he could ever say to make her feel better. The only thing that she needed was to see her son happy and healthy.

And as his mind still scrambled for something to say or do, she slowly turned from him and sat on the bench beside him, "And Brooke," She asked, her voice strained in pain.

Nathan shook his head, _she wouldn't be able to take it, she had enough grief, and he couldn't put that on her too. He knew how much Karen loved Brooke; she was next only to Lucas. It would kill Karen to know that they both could be possibly fighting death._

"Karen we just need to wait for-…"

"Nathan, stop trying to protect me from this! You don't understand, I _need _to know, or I'm going to go crazy, I really need to know, tell me everything you know, and please don't try to spare me. I need all the information you have,"

Nathan sighed, "Okay," He paused, collecting his thoughts, "Brooke's car went…" Nathan looked up at Karen hesitantly, "Through the side of the bridge… and fell into the water," He informed her slowly, watching the words sink in as her mouth fell open slightly in pain, "Max said that when she came in she had a really bad bruise on her head, and she was unconscious,"

Karen paused for a second, a tear falling from her eye straight into her lap, "How did it happen?"

"Honestly, I don't know myself. I know Brooke's car went into the side, but Lucas's car was just there, I don't know how or why he was in the water as well-…"

"I know,"

Nathan and Karen both looked up to find an emotionless Peyton walk down the hall towards them. It actually sent a shiver down Nathan's spine to see her like that; it was like watching a zombie walk towards them, she looked so drained and lifeless that it was scary. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her hair a mess.

She slowly made her way to sit beside Karen, but she didn't look at Karen, she sat there staring at the wall in front of her, "I heard a witness talking to the police," She stated, before going quiet for a few moments.

Those moments were agony for Karen and Nathan, but neither of them spoke, waiting for Peyton to continue. It was like she was so delicate, that if either of them spoke, she'd disappear.

"When Brooke went through the side of the bridge, there was a car behind her that quickly reversed off the bridge as soon as she broke through the side," She started, and Nathan felt his heart drop, _there was another car, a car behind Brooke? Could that car have caused Brooke's accident, and if not, then why would it have reversed off the bridge? Why wouldn't it have stopped and waited._

Nathan could tell Karen had the same thoughts bothering her, but once again, neither of them pushed Peyton for more.

"Lucas," Peyton whispered, her voice cracking slightly, "His car drove on just as Brooke broke through the side, and he, he got out and jumped in the water after her…" Peyton whispered in pain, "They say that no one surfaced for what felt like forever, the kid said at least 5 minutes, but that wouldn't make sense, no one can live that long without oxygen, and no one saw Lucas resurface for oxygen."

Karen bit her bottom lip, and her hands began trembling slightly in her lap.

"But somehow he managed to get Brooke out of the car, while she was unconscious with her head injury, and he must've pulled her back to the surface, because many minutes later, an unconscious Brooke was seen breaking the surface, but there wasn't any sign of Luke…" She trailed off, chocking on his name as her face twisted in pain.

"But how could he have saved Brooke, without coming up himself?" Nathan asked; his eyes wide open in shock at her words, _that didn't make any sense?_

"_I don't know_, but I heard the paramedics talking, and they said that had Lucas not jumped in after her, and some messed up way got her out of her sinking car and gotten her out of the water in time, their would've been no way to save her. They said that Lucas saved her life, or gave her a chance at life," She whispered.

Nathan knelt to the ground, feeling too overwhelmed to stand any longer, he sat back, his back resting against the wall, he couldn't believe what he was hearing; _Lucas saved Brooke? He's in there fighting for his life because he wanted to give Brooke a chance to fight as well…_

Peyton sighed, _she was glad he had saved Brooke. As much as she felt like Brooke was the reason for what Lucas had become the last few months, as much Brooke was the only problem that kept Peyton from happiness with Lucas, she was glad he had saved her. Sure, it hurt like hell to know he was in there fighting for his life because of Brooke, and yeah a part of her wished Lucas hadn't been there to save her, because that would mean he would be perfectly okay right now, she was glad he had saved her. Because a part of her still loved Brooke with all her heart, and couldn't imagine life without her, because a part of her still missed her best friend, and because a part of her still needed Brooke in her life. But the other part resented her for doing this to Lucas, the other part wished he hadn't been there, the other part wished he would be happy with just her, with no Brooke to come between them._

_He had to live, she couldn't imagine life without seeing his face every day, she couldn't imagine not having him to turn to, regardless of how emotionless he had become these last few months, she needed Lucas in her life. She loved him wholeheartedly, and even if he didn't want her, she wanted him, and she wanted him alive and well and happy._

Karen felt a sad smiled tug at her lips; _you gave her another chance at life Lucas. _He had made Brooke's life so miserable for a little bit there, and then he had made his own life miserable without her, and now her son was in there, and she didn't know how he even was, but he had saved Brooke. He had saved the closest thing she had to a daughter.

_How was she supposed to feel? _It tore Karen apart not knowing how he was, knowing he had been in surgery for who knows how long and she had no word on him; fearing he could possibly die any second now. It was causing her insides to churn painfully, he was a part of her, he was a part of everything in her life now; he was her son. He was the reason she woke up every morning, he was in her prayers before she went to sleep, and always in her thoughts and heart. She couldn't live without him; she couldn't imagine a second without him in her life. She would take a bullet for him, she would lay down her life for him, _and she would gladly take his place now. _

_He was her son._

He always came first, even when she knew he was wrong about forcing her to kick Brooke out, even though she knew Brooke needed her more then anything, and even though she cried herself to sleep many nights when Brooke left, and when she found out she was living with Max; _Lucas always came first. _

The mother in her couldn't have chosen Brooke over Lucas, as much as she had wanted to, as much as she knew she should've.

_He always came first._

And if she had to chose, Lucas wouldn't be here in the hospital right now, Lucas wouldn't be potentially fighting for his life.

_But Brooke came second._

And as much as her heart was breaking, there was no way she could resent Brooke; there was no way she could wish that Lucas hadn't put his life at risk to save Brooke.

Without Lucas, Brooke would've been dead right now.

And Karen was so thankful she wasn't. _She loved Brooke; Brooke held a huge part of her heart, the part that a daughter would've taken, belonged to Brooke. She truly did love Brooke._

And it was so hard to feel one thing.

Karen was heartbroken that Lucas was here, yet relieved beyond words that Brooke was. That Brooke did get a chance to live, that Brooke hadn't died in the water, and that Lucas had saved her.

_And right now, they both could die._

_What was she suppose to feel? Happy that Lucas saved Brooke and heartbroken that Lucas threatened his own life?_

Karen could feel her hands trembling in her laps, and she clasped them tighter, _she could not break. She needed to be strong for everyone here. She couldn't lose hope, everything __**will **__be fine._

Nathan sighed, staying in his position on the floor. The three sat there silently, now neither of them speaking, all in their own thoughts, their own worries, fears, and prayers. Neither of them muttered another word, and Nathan wasn't sure how long it had been; _maybe an hour…maybe the whole night, _before a nurse finally came out to them.

"Karen Scott?"

Karen looked up quickly at the nurse, standing up, "How's my son?" She almost pleaded, her heart racing in her chest.

"He's out of surgery, but we need you to come to the doctor's office-…"

"I'm okay with you telling them as well, this is his brother, and that is his girlfriend," She cut her off, motioning towards Peyton and Nathan, "Just tell me how me son is, _please,_"

The nurse looked at the other two for a second, before looking down at her report, "He's stable," She finally said.

And Karen stumbled back slightly relieved, _oh thank god, oh thank you god! My son is fine, my son will be fine!_

"But he has a long way to go, there was excess water that deposited into his lungs, and the lack of oxygen has really taken a toll on his body, he's very weak right now, and his previous heart condition is only making matters worse. We can't promise anything right now, it's really up to how his body reacts to the medicine we're treating him with, and the rest he gets, as right now, he's still connected with machine oxygen, but hopefully he will slowly start breathing himself, and recovering, "

Karen nodded, biting her bottom lip, as Nathan piped up behind her, "What does this mean for him, as clear as possible,"

"It means, we'll be monitoring him for a few days, and it really depends on how he holds up these few days, it could honestly go either way," She stated, looking up at them professionally, and Nathan could almost hit her for the lack of emotion on her face as she told him that his brother could _die._

"Can we see him," Karen asked; her voice calm and collected, a hint of coolness and fear lingering unmasked.

"Yes you can, but he _cannot_, I repeat _cannot _be worked up right now, you need to keep him as calm as possible, I don't think he'd be able to take any sort of exciting or upsetting news, and we wouldn't allow you to disturb him, but often its family and friends that can usually instil a will to live in our patient, and that will _can _do wonders."

Karen nodded, "Which room,"

"He's being moved to room 233, but he won't be awake yet,"

"I just need to see him," Karen whispered, a tear escaping her dry eyes, to slide down her cheek slowly.

"Alright,"

And with that, Karen turned towards her son's room, and faintly registered Nathan and Peyton following, as she finally opened the door to Lucas's room.

And the sight of him caused a new life to be awoken in her, she felt breathless at the sight of her son lying on the hospital bed, wires sticking in and out of him, his face pale… almost blue-ish. He looked so weak and drained lying there, that Karen felt her insides tighten in pain, "L-Lucas," She whispered, her hand hesitantly reaching to her son's face, and trailing from his forehead down to his chin, "My baby," Her voice cracked and her knees gave away as she fell to the ground, kneeling beside his bed, "Oh my baby," She cried, her hand resting on his arm as she sobbed into the side of his bed.

_The pain she felt, it was worse then if someone had forced her body on a hot stove, it was worse then pouring boiling water on her heart… it was a pain of its own. It was a mother's heartbreak._

Karen looked up at him, _I have to be strong, but its so hard, _seeing her son laying there, looking like he was so close to death, having wires sticking into him all over the place, seeing him dependent on _life support? _

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry it isn't me there instead of you," She cried softly onto the bed, momentarily forgetting the two teens standing in the doorframe.

Peyton and Nathan stood side by side, watching the scene in front of them. Nathan watched as his brother, a brother he hated not too long ago, a brother he had grown to accept and love in his own way… nonetheless his _brother_, laying there, looking the perfect vision of death… it scared him.

This was the guy who always tried to up him in basketball, the same guy who then cried to him a little while ago on the court, the guy who was so broken recently. This wasn't suppose to be how it ended. Brooke and Lucas were suppose to have a happy ending, as fucked up as their situation was, just earlier today he had seen a glimpse of the real them when they stood, their arms wrapped around his son, and he could see their love, and today had somewhat sealed their fate in his eyes… they belonged together, they were going to end up together. They weren't supposed to end up in hospital beds, fighting for their lives at the end of the day. This couldn't be real. _It shouldn't be._

Nathan needed his brother. His son needed his Uncle Luke, his godfather. And Haley needed her best friend… _And Brooke needed him, more then anyone._

Peyton stood still, she wasn't even sure if she was still breathing. Watching Lucas –her Lucas, laying there like that… it was literally killing her. _She wanted to be with him. She wanted to build a life with him. And regardless of whether he wanted her or not, she couldn't live a day without seeing his face. _She wanted him happy, happy with her. And Peyton knew she could make him happy, she just needed another chance. They were _meant _to be together, everyone knew that Lucas and Peyton were meant to be together. He couldn't leave her, he had to be strong, and he _had to make it. _Cause Peyton didn't know what she would do without him. She had already lost everyone she loved and mattered in her life. Her two moms, Brooke's friendship, and now she couldn't lose the love of her life too; _she couldn't. _

They two stood there, for over ten minutes, just watching Karen cry silently by Lucas's bedside, and neither of them moved forward, knowing that Karen needed this, nothing they did could help. Peyton felt tears of her own spill from her eyes, and Nathan just clenched his jaw, his eyes getting teary but he kept his face emotionless.

A few moments later, a nurse interrupted, "I'm sorry, I need to take one more test, if I could just have you guys wait outside please,"

Nathan finally moved forward, his hands going gently to Karen's upper arm and helping her up, Karen tried to plaster a strong composed look on her face automatically, but for once, she failed, and her bottom lip trembled as dreadful sob left her, before pulling out of Nathan's grasp and another light touch to his face, before slowly walking out on her own. Peyton took her spot, touching his hand slowly, before leaning down to place a light kiss on his forehead, "I need you Lucas," She whispered.

When she left, Nathan looked down at him finally, "You need to get better bro," Nathan muttered, trying to keep his voice as strong as possible, "Don't leave me with the dirty diapers all by myself, oh and I can just imagine how crazy Haley's gonna go when she has a crying pooping baby to take care of, you _gotta _be there to take half her hell!" He laughed lightly, but it was a dry humourless laugh, "You need to be here for me man," He finally admitted, "I need you too," His voice cracked slightly, and he quickly rubbed his eye of any moisture, "Bro,"

And with that, Nathan turned, a tear finally slipping down his cheek, before wiping it away quickly, and following the others way out the room.

The three resumed their seats on the benches, now all three sitting side by side. Nathan could hear the other two sniffing here and there, but he didn't say anything. _What could he say? _

So once again, they waited in silence, until finally they heard another voice break the suffocating silence.

"We need to get into contact with Mrs. Davis's parents as soon as possible, but neither of them are reachable-…"

All three of them looked up at once to find a nurse down the hall speaking to the receptionist, and Peyton stood up, "Escuse me, we're here for Brooke Davis," She called out hesitantly.

The nurse turned around towards them, "Are you guys her relatives?"

_Why does it matter! Just fucking tell us! _

"Her parents aren't in town, I'm her best friend-… uh we're all close to her here," Peyton explained, her eyes searching the nurses expectantly, "Please tell us how she is,"

"I can't say much, you will need to come into the doctor's office,"

Nathan finally stood up, "But you can tell us how she _is! _She had a horrible accident, she was fished out of the water barely breathing, and she's _pregnant_, _tell us how she is!_" He demanded, almost shaking.

"What's going on here?"

All three turned to find the doctor walking down the hall toward them, and Nathan immediately took a step closer to the doctor, "How is Brooke Davis, we are the closest thing she has to a family here,"

"I'm sorry, but we can't disclose this information to nonfamily members, we've actually already talked to the closest person we can find to a family for her, that's all we can say,"

"What, who? Who did you-…" But Nathan trailed off when he saw an open mouthed Max come out of the doctor's office at the end of the hall. He hadn't even noticed the rest of them as he leaned against the wall dejectedly. 

"Max-…" He heard Peyton whisper behind him, and Nathan didn't even have time to react before he felt Peyton pushing past him and almost running towards Max.

_This did not look good at all, _Nathan could feel his mouth dry, as he watched Peyton shake Max, but he wouldn't look at her.

"Max, _what's going on!" _Peyton asked, as Nathan dragged himself to stand next to her and look at Max's grief stricken face, not really sure if he wanted to know anymore, "Why won't you say anything, what the hell is going on, _how's Brooke!"_

Nathan held his breath, _please be okay, please __**please **__be okay Brooke! _Nathan couldn't imagine their lives without her; Brooke was this crazy, beautiful… she was the bitchiest and the sweetest person he knew. He couldn't imagine their group without her, he couldn't imagine his son growing up without her helping raise him, and spoiling him. She was Brooke Davis, and One Tree Hill would be nothing without her. _Haley wouldn't be able to handle losing her… _And there was another person that wouldn't be able to live without her, but Nathan couldn't think of him now, he wouldn't be able to think about his absence right now, _he couldn't handle it_, right now was about Brooke alone. Nathan could see Peyton starting to sob slightly, and pulling at Max's arm, so Nathan finally leaned forward and wrapped his arms comfortingly around Peyton and pulled her back, and off of Max, where she leaned against Nathan's chest limply, as Max finally turned his bloodshot eyes towards them,

"She's barely hanging on…" He whispered, in a voice so brittle, that the fact that she was alive didn't comfort any of them, "They will not be able to save both of them, and right now they could both be dying… they need permission to let one of them go, to give the other a chance to live," He paused, breathing in slowly, his eyes clouding in pain,

"_It's either Brooke, or the baby," _

Karen, who had still been sitting on the bench this whole time suddenly felt like she couldn't breath, "Who gets to choose," She muttered under her breath, loud enough for them all to hear, but she never looked up to confirm it.

"I'm the closest thing she has to family at this second, and they need the decision as soon as possible, to be able to save at least one of them," Max answered, still leaning against the wall, his face drained.

Nathan felt a sinking feeling inside, "It's going to kill Brooke to lose her baby," He whispered, "I'm so sorry man, being a father is amazing and I'm so sorry you lost your baby before you could even hold him or her," Nathan said sincerely, a hand going up to Max's shoulder, "This is so fucked up man,"

Peyton sighed, "_Oh my god_, poor Brooke… there was this… glow on her face during her pregnancy, it was like even though she knew she was too young, she really wanted her baby and connected with him or her, and I just hate that she's going to have to go through this," She whispered as well, leaning against the wall beside Max.

Karen sat there silently; Karen who knew almost everything about this baby situation, who knew how this baby was conceived and what kind of man the father was, and what the mother had gone through; she sat there silently, _something wasn't right. Max wasn't saying anything, he wasn't saying anything… something is awfully wrong._

_And Karen knew what it was, even before he said anything, Karen knew. She knew exactly what he was thinking. And Karen waited for it._

"But its okay man, I know this is going to be horrible, and I know this hurts like hell, and even though nothing could replace your baby, at least you guys can have more, this won't be the end of the world, as much as it might feel like it, you and Brooke-…"

But Max cut him off by turning to look at him finally, and Karen held her breath, _"Who said I'm choosing Brooke?" _

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	27. Chapter 27

"_Who said I'm choosing Brooke?"_

His sentence lingered in the air and stunned the two facing him. No one spoke for a moment as Peyton and Nathan just stared at Max, before Nathan finally stirred_, "W-what did you just say?"_

Max took a quick breath, "I said, who says that I'll choose Brooke over my _baby,_" He stated again, "I love my-…"

"You _bastard!_" Peyton screeched interrupting him, as she finally snapped into a fit of sobs and yelling at the same time, her body lunging forward towards him, but Nathan reacted quickly and an arm quickly wrapped around her waist and restrained her body, but one of Peyton's hands managed to claw at his face, causing him to clutch his cheek and back away, "You _fucking bastard, how dare you!_"

Nathan held the struggling Peyton in his arms, as the scratch beginning from just under his eye to almost all the way down his cheek reddened and droplets of blood began to seep through.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Max yelled enraged, as he looked at the blood he patted on his fingers before looking up to glare at the crazy girl, "Do you think I _want _Brooke to die? Are you stupid, I love Brooke, but I love my baby too, and I'm sorry if letting your precious Brooke go makes you think I'm some heartless bastard."

Peyton looked at him like he grew another head, "_Are you listening to yourself?_" She asked incredulously, "Would you really just let Brooke _die!_" She demanded.

"If it comes down to it, if it's between my flesh and blood, and Brooke Davis; then I'm sorry… but Brooke can die," He stated evenly.

Peyton lunged at him again but Nathan pulled her back tightly and turned his body, cradling her to the opposite side of Max before quickly releasing her out of the way and turning around so fast that Max didn't have time to defend himself and felt a powerful fist connection with his eye, "You bastard!" Nathan growled enraged, as Max fell to the ground in front of him clutching his eye.

Nathan watched him slowly stand back up clutching his eye, and it took Nathan everything not to punch him back down.

Max looked up glaring from one eye, before letting go to push Nathan backwards, but Nathan was ready for this, and managed to stumble backwards but keep his footing, "Don't ever fucking touch me again! I'm going through the worst thing I could ever imagine and you're an asshole enough to hit me right now?" He threatened, "I'm fucking sick of you Scott brothers walking around like you run shit, touch me again and… and I'll make sure you're worse off than Lucas,"

Nathan's face looked like it had been slapped, and he felt blood rush to his face, "_What the fuck did you just say?_" Nathan asked slowly, stepping closer to Max.

Max stepped back involuntarily, "Nathan stop right now,"

Nathan only stepped closer, venom dripping in his voice, "_Worse off than Lucas?_"

Max stepped back again, Nathan's voice sounded like death, and his eyes spelled murder, Max was angry, but not stupid, "Stay the fuck away from me," Max threatened.

Nathan grabbed Max by the throat with one hand and slammed him against the wall behind him, _"I'll make you regret being alive,"_ Nathan promised in a hoarse voice, "If you _ever _put my brother's name in your mouth again, I _swear it_,"

Peyton just fell to the ground sobbing, not even looking at the two guys, "Max please," She finally resorted, "Please don't let Brooke die," She begged, "_Please_,"

Nathan pulled Max away from the wall slightly before slamming him against it harder and letting go.

"What's going on here?" Nathan could hear the doctor and nurse coming back from another patient, but he didn't turn to look at them, his red eyes glued to Max's.

"Nothing," Max answered, "I've made my decision,"

Nathan's eyes hardened, as Max stepped around him to face the doctor.

"Alright, we just need you to come to the doctor's office to sign some papers…"

"_No_," Peyton sobbed on the ground, and as Max tried to walk past her towards the office she grabbed on to his legs, "Max please don't do this; please don't do this to Brooke!" Peyton wailed; _She had ruined her relationship with Brooke, she had backstabbed her countless times, but Peyton couldn't lose Brooke. The thought of Brooke not existing anymore caused Peyton's heart to clench unbearably. Peyton didn't want a world without Lucas because she wanted to have a life with him, but a world without Brooke would take away a part of Peyton herself. Brooke was her mother, sister and best friend, she was one that cared for Peyton unconditionally, and even though Peyton had hurt her horribly, she knew that Brooke would've eventually forgiven her, because she was Brooke. Brooke Davis didn't hold grudges for long, Brooke Davis loved her loved ones with all her heart. Brooke Davis was Peyton Sawyers best friend… Brooke Davis was… Brooke Davis, she was Peyton's family, _"Max, I know it's going to be hard, but you said you love her! You can't just let her die, I know it will be hard losing your child, _but you guys can have more! _Please Max, please don't let her die!"

_How could you beg someone you hardly even knew to spare someone that meant everything in your life? Why would you need to beg someone so irrelevant for someone so important? How could Max decide everyone else's fate?_

Max looked down at her, "I'm sorry. I need my baby," He whispered, pulling his leg out of her grasp, and walking towards the doctor's office.

"_You can't do this Max,"_ Nathan called out after him, "You _know _it's not the right decision,"

But Max ignored him.

Peyton watched after him sobbing, "I can't lose her Nate, I can't lose Brooke; she is my everything, you don't understand, I can't lose Brooke," She declared, stumbling to her feet as she tried to run into the doctors office after Max, but Nathan grabbed her again.

"Peyton, _I know,_ but by going into the office and making a scene, that isn't going to do anything, he's fucking heartless and he's made his decision, we need to find another way to save her!"

Nathan looked up at Karen, who still sat frozen in her spot on the bench. Nathan rushed over to her, kneeling to the ground in front of her, "Karen, what can we do to save her?" He almost begged; _Nathan had to find a way to save Brooke, not only because she's one of his best friends, but for Haley too, she wouldn't be able to handle losing Brooke, Haley needed her, she loved her… but most of all, he had to save Brooke for Lucas. Lucas couldn't live without Brooke, he had to save the love of his brother's life! A world without Brooke would kill Lucas._

Karen's expression didn't change, she sat there, her eyes wider then usual, her mouth slightly ajar. She didn't speak.

Peyton, who was standing next to the kneeled Nathan fell to her knees as well, her face completely wet with tears, and she helplessly put her hands together in front of Karen, "Please Karen, we need you, we need you to save Brooke!" She pleaded.

Nathan and Peyton remained kneeled in front of her, their eyes full of desperation, but Karen didn't speak. She slowly stood up, causing Nathan to kneel backwards to make room for her, before she walked past them.

Peyton put an arm around Nathan's shoulders, as her sobs slowly subdued to sniffs, watching Karen walk toward the doctor's office. Nathan pulled Peyton up with him, and they slowly followed Karen to the office.

Karen opened the door without knocking, walking in just as Max positioned his pen held hand over a paper, causing both doctor and Max to look up surprised, "Excuse me, you cannot just-…"

"He is not allowed to sign the paper for Brooke, he doesn't have the authority to sign someone's death contract," Karen stated, her voice emotionless.

Peyton gulped, as her and Nathan stood in the doorframe, unsure of what Karen would do.

"He is the closest thing we can get to family right now as Mr. and Mrs. Davis are unreachable, and this _is _the baby's father," The doctor explained, "And both lives are hanging on a thin line right now, we need the answer sooner the better for whichever is saved, to prevent losing both mother and baby,"

"Seeing as Mr. and Mrs. Davis are unreachable, they had left Brooke under my authority a few years back, thus it will be _me _that makes this decision, _not _an eighteen year old boy who isn't even married to the mother of the baby," Karen answered evenly, her face cool and hard as stone.

Peyton felt a rush go through her body, _there was hope! Brooke will be saved! Karen will save her!_

Nathan felt the scowl disappear from his lips, as he realized what was happening, _Yes!_

The doctor looked surprised for a second, looking over Brooke's report, and Max's face fell, "She can't do that! That's _my _child, only _I _can decide the fate of _my _child!" He countered, standing up.

The doctor looked up at Karen, "While that might've been the case a few years ago, Brooke Davis has turned eighteen since then, thus removing any legal guardian from her as she is now an adult herself, and not living with you any longer,"

"She was living with me!" Max chipped in.

"Legally, she was not living with Max; he had rented another room next to hers. Thus that does not put an authority over Max, and once again, nor are they married. Thus, having been the previous figure of authority, now seeing as Ms. Davis is unable to make her own decision, the next authorization falls upon me, in the circumstance that her parents are unreachable,"

A few moments passed as the doctor looked over Brooke' reports once more, and scanning his computer for Brooke's files of registration, all the while Max's eyes widened and he sat back on his seat, leaning at the edge as he waited for the doctor to give his verdict, "It's _my _baby!" he squeaked in, trying to keep the balance tilted towards himself.

But finally the doctor looked up and nodded, "She is correct, and as an adult figure, she does shoulder this authorization. We would like to give you a few moments to make your decision wisely, as we need the answer as soon as possible."

"_WHAT?!_" Max roared jumping up, "She can't do that!" He yelled stomping close to Karen and glaring at her.

"Yes I can," Karen answered evenly, her face merely inches from Max's angry one, "And you need to go back to the pigsty you came from, and get the hell out of Brooke's life. _I know what you did, _and don't think for a second I won't expose you like bait to hungry lions in a second, so if you know what's good for you, you need to shut up and get the hell out of my face," She whispered venomously.

Max's face fell, and fear and hesitance took its place, and Karen could almost see his inner battle as he stepped away from her slowly, "Karen before you make an decision-…"

"My decision is made," Karen answered unblinking.

"You're decision is made only because you're being selfish, you're thinking about what will make your_ son_ happy," Max countered, his eyes set in determination.

"And you're thinking about what makes _you _happy!" Nathan shot, stepping next to Karen and fixing Max in a triumph glare.

Max didn't back down, "You're right, so now its up to Karen, up to Karen to think about _Brooke, _because Brooke really loves you Karen, and _you _of all people should know what _Brooke _wants,"

Karen's stare faltered for a second, and Max stepped a little closer in determination, "Karen _you know what Brooke wants, _you need to decide this for _Brooke, _and its not fair to Brooke if you choose only based on what _Lucas _wants, you need to put Brooke first now, its _her baby, _she loves this baby more then anything in the world," Max stated, "And from what I know, I know Brooke would've never forgiven me if I had chosen her, and let her baby die. She would never forgive you Karen,"

Nathan's glare hardened when he found Karen weakening beside him, "No way, shut the hell up Max, stop trying to manipulate her into what _you _want, we need Brooke Davis, and we will _not _let her die!"

Max ignored him, "Karen, put yourself in her situation. Say it was you and _Lucas, _say only one of you could live, _what would you want?_" He challenged, "Would you want someone to let Lucas go so _you _could live, would _you _let Lucas die for your own life because you could have _another _baby if you wanted? Huh Karen?"

And he had hit the right spot. He had said the perfect line to get to Karen, and Karen let out a strangled sob as a tear slid down her cheek, "_Stop It," _Karen yelled, backing away from him.

Nathan's heart sank, _Max had hit Karen at her soft spot; there is no way Karen could deny the justice from her eyes._

Nathan's mind rushed for excuses, _what could he possibly say to counter that? Max had brought up Lucas, and now for Karen to choose Brooke, she'd think of the baby she'd be giving up as Lucas, oh fuck._

"He's right," She whispered almost breathless.

Max hid a grin, "You need to make your decision quick Karen, you might just let both the mother, and her baby, perhaps her _son, _go," He whispered.

And Nathan was shocked to find Karen shaking beside him.

Karen's eyes closed as more tears managed to escape; _if she was Brooke, she would want her baby to be saved. She would want Lucas to live and herself to be forsaken. She could never live with herself knowing she had stolen her baby's chance to live… and Brooke would want that too. Brooke would never forgive her if she let her baby die… just as Karen would never have forgiven her either if the roles were reversed._

Karen could feel her energy drain as the confidence seeped out of her, and Nathan could see it too, as his heart began to pound harder in fear, "Karen-…" He began hesitantly.

"Karen, you _need _to make a decision now, or no one lives," Max interrupted, stepping back to clear her path towards the papers she needed to sign.

Karen trembled in her spot, taking a hesitant step forward.

"_Mom,_"

Karen stopped in her tracks and turned around, her eyes getting wider in shock as she found Lucas in a wheelchair in the doorway, his IV still stuck in his hand with the monitor in one of Peyton's hands as the other was placed on the handles on his wheelchair. He looked really weak and tired, but his eyes were shining with life.

"Peyton-…" Nathan began.

"I'm sorry, but when I saw that Max was getting to Karen, I had to do something. So I went back to Lucas's room, and when I found him laying there drowsy, I quickly explained what was going on, and it was like a light bulb, before I knew it he was pulling out of bed…" She trailed on determined, "…I'm really sorry, but this was the only way I could save Brooke," Peyton insisted helplessly.

But Karen didn't look at her, her eyes glued to her son as she stumbled forward and fell to her knees in front of Lucas's wheelchair, throwing her arms gently around Lucas's weak body, "Baby," She muttered in tears, "Oh my god, it feels so good to see you, to see you awake, you were-…" But no one could understand the rest as she half sobbed and tried to talk at the same time.

But Lucas just cupped her face between his hands, and wiped at her tears with the pads of his thumb, "Mom, I'm really happy to see you too," He whispered, "But you have a decision to make right now mom, and mom I need you to make the right one,"

Karen sniffed, pulling away slowly, "I know Lucas… but I don't know what the right one is," She muttered, her hands trailing his face, tenderly holding his face in her hands, looking at her son.

Lucas shook his head, "You need to ignore him mom," Lucas started, throwing a venomous glare at Max, "You know what the right thing to do is, don't let him get to you,"

More tears trailed down Karen's face as she stared at her sons face, "But _is that what Brooke would want?_" She asked, "Because I know if I was Brooke I would want you to live, and I think she'd want that too, she'd want her baby to live, no mother can sacrifice her baby for her own life, and especially not someone as selfless as Brooke,"

Lucas's hands fell from her face to wrap around her shaking ones, "I know mom, but there is more you need to consider. Who is going to take care of this baby? Brooke's parents didn't even know she was pregnant; they don't _want _this baby, and who's left? Max? Because regardless of whether Brooke tolerated him, they _weren't _together, and Brooke wouldn't want _him _raising her baby, would she?"

Karen felt a pang in her heart, _No she wouldn't Lucas, and you don't even know why._

"And mom, you're thinking of Brooke and her baby, but what about Brooke's parents? If they were here and able to make this decision, _who would they choose? _Brooke. And if you don't, then you'll be taking away _their _baby!" Lucas insisted, causing Karen to look up suddenly, "And since Max likes to bring my name into everything, would you want someone else to have chosen anyone else over _my _life mom?"

Karen nodded slowly, "You're right Lucas," She whispered, as she turned towards the papers once more.

"Wait!" Max began, but Nathan grabbed him by the arm and violently pulled him out of the room, throwing him against the wall across them, "What the fuck!" He yelled, raising his arm to attack Nathan, but Nathan blocked it easily.

"The decision has been made, and now there's _nothing _you can do about it," Nathan grinned victoriously.

Max watched past him, as Karen passed the papers over to the doctor, and he felt all the energy drain out of his body. It was like watching his defeat, his ruins. _It was like watching the end._

He just lost his baby. The one thing that had been everything in his left for these past few months, the one thing that his whole like revolved around… and the one link to the perfect life with Brooke. This baby would've connected him to Brooke forever, and eventually he would've convinced her that he was the one for her. _But now_, now that his baby had died, now that Brooke knew he had caused the accident, Brooke didn't want anything to do with him. And now he had nothing to keep her with him.

_He had lost everything.

* * *

_

Lucas sat in his wheelchair next to Brooke, her bruised hand held in his pale one, and his eyes never left her face. It had been a week since the decision… the decision to let Brooke's child die. One torturous week full of remorse, sadness, anger and most of all just pain; Lucas waited every day for a sign of life from Brooke, and every day that passed made Lucas's heart sink more and more.

"Lucas, honey please let me take you to your room, you need rest to recover fully," Karen almost pleads from the doorway. She watched her son, who was still a very sickly pale colour, and still in his wheelchair due to weakness, and it broke her heart. He is suppose to be recovering really well, he should have been walking perfectly by now, he shouldn't need the wheelchair, but because he had refused to leave Brooke's room all week, his recovery had been much slower then it should've been. He needed to be on bed rest, yet he wouldn't listen to anyone. He sat there, day after day, night after night, one of her hands in his; and his eyes on her. And there was something so intense about them, even though Brooke had been on machines and unconscious all week, there was just something about them that was so… solid. And it was funny because they were the two most broken people in Tree Hill.

He glanced slightly at his mom and sighed, "You know I'm not leaving her, mom," he said, almost apologetically because he knew it hurt her to see him hinder his own recovery. _But he wouldn't be recovering without her, he wouldn't be able to rest, or even close his eyes unless he could still feel her hand in his. He didn't want to ever leave her; he didn't want to ever lose her. And he had been so close, there was no way he could let her leave his sight._

Karen sighed, before turning to leave, but she stopped when she found Max sitting on a bench down the hall, _he had been here all week as well, he would leave at night and return in the morning when visiting hours were open again. She didn't know why he would be there, especially since he was so adamant on letting Brooke go, but there he was, day after day. _But he didn't speak, nor look at any of the others that came every day to see Brooke as well.

Haley had wheeled into Brooke's room on the second day when she found out, all worry stricken and crying, only to be consoled by a barely responsive Lucas; Lucas had put so much energy into Brooke that he barely noticed anyone else in the room. And it broke Haley's heart to see him look so worn out, and even more to see Brooke laying there, so dreadfully broken looking, and Brooke still didn't know her baby had died. And now that Haley had her child, she knew that it would be the worst pain of all.

It was into the beginning of the second week when Brooke opened her eyes for the first time. Her head was bandaged up, and she was a sickly pale colour, much like Lucas.

Brooke felt light flood her eyes, and she fluttered them closed right away in defence, before slowly opening them again, and right away, her eyes landed on familiar warm blue ones. They stared at each other quietly, as a slow smile spread across his face. Brooke noticed with a slight frown that he looked like a much weaker form of himself. There were bags under his eyes, his face pale, and he seemed to be sitting in a wheelchair, "Luke," She began, but it hurt to talk, her throat was so sore that it caused her voice to come out rough and strained.

"Brooke," He whispered, a hand reaching out to lay gently against her cheek, "You're finally awake cheery,"

Brooke first smiled slightly at the use of her old nickname, but her grin quickly turned to a frown; _finally awake? What's he talking about. Where the hell am I? _Brooke quickly scanned her surroundings, _what the…_ she found monitors and white walls everywhere she looked, _I'm in a hospital room?!_ Brooke's free hand trailed to her stomach to find it almost flat, _"Did I already have my baby?" _Brooke asked in awe, facing Lucas again, _her baby, she already had her baby! Where was her baby, her arms longed to finally hold her child, _but Brooke's heart sunk when she caught the look of pain wash through his eyes and he avoided looking at her.

_Why wasn't he looking at her, was her baby okay? Her baby had to be okay! _

"_Luke,"_ Brooke almost pleaded, her throat dry and scratchy, "Please tell me where my baby is, _you're scaring me!"_

But when Lucas wouldn't reply or meet her eyes, Brooke pulled at the hand that enclosed hers, "_Lucas!_" She tried to scream, but her throat wouldn't allow it, so it came out raspy and more of a urgent whisper.

He finally looked up to meet her gaze, and she found his eyes blood red and almost teary, "Brooke…" he began, taking a deep breath, his other hand joining the one that was holding Brooke's, _"You lost your baby,"_ He whispered painfully.

**A/n sorry for the long delay, I believe this chapter is longer then usual or at least more progressive, which hopefully is a peace offering from me. **

**Thank you to all that took time to review, and I greatly appreciate it! Please read and review!**


	28. Chapter 28 The End

Brooke looked like she had just been slapped, "What the _fuck _did you just say?" She questioned angrily.

Lucas avoided her gaze, as a lone tear slipped painfully from his eyes, "_I'm so sorry Brooke-…_"

"Shut the fuck up Lucas," Brooke interrupted angrily, "I _knew _you had a problem with my pregnancy, and I know you wish you were the father and you _resent _me for having a baby with someone else, but I never knew you would be so fucking _cruel!_" She screamed.

Lucas's eyes widened; _she thought he was making it up? _He saw her attempt to get out of bed so he quickly leaned forward to hold her, but she pushed him away roughly, "_Stay the fuck away from me!" _She screamed, tears springing to her eyes, "How dare you!"

That's when Nathan, Peyton and Karen came running into the room, "_Brooke!_" the three of them screamed in shock, as they saw her pulling out her IV.

"Brooke what are you _doing?_" Karen asked, rushing to her side, "You need to stay in bed!" She insisted as she motioned for Lucas to move away judging from how angry the girl in the bed looked.

Lucas looked away sadly, lifting himself out of his wheel chair as Nathan lead him a few feet away to stand against the opposite wall. His wide eyes never leaving her form; _he had expected her to react in so many ways, but not this way. To think he lied out of spite. He would never… _

Brooke broke down crying, "No, you don't know what he just said to me!" Brooke cried, you don't know… he- he just said _my_ baby _died_, how _dare _he? _How could he be so cruel_?" She questioned, her eyes never leaving Lucas.

As soon as those words left her lips, Karen's hold weakened as Brooke pulled away from her. Karen's eyes widened, before slowly filling with pain; _this was the moment, the moment Brooke's world would come crashing down around her. This was the moment that would make or break everything. This moment would be a huge turning point in their life, and Karen wasn't sure they'd ever recover. She watched the two in front of her; her son standing against the opposite wall, his eyes filled with so much pain that Karen wanted to rush over and cradle him in her arms like he was still an infant, and Brooke standing a few feet away. Her chest heaving up and down angrily, as she stared at him; her eyes filled with so much rage, pain… and betrayal._

_This moment could mean everything._

She watched Brooke get off the bed, but Peyton quickly blocked her, "Brooke, you need to get in bed, _please_, everything is fine, please just rest_, this isn't good for you_!" She pleaded desperately.

But Brooke didn't acknowledge her at all, simply pushing away from her, "Take that back!" She whispered venomously, nearing Lucas.

Lucas just watched her sadly, as she grabbed him by his shirt, "Lucas, _take it back!" _She yelled.

"Brooke, he was lying_, please just get back in bed-…"_ Nathan began desperately, but Brooke ignored him too, her eyes still on Lucas.

She shook him desperately; _Brooke knew, she knew that Lucas would never lie to her about this. She needed to hear it from him. She wanted for him to take it back; she desperately needed him to take it back. The pain she felt was almost unbearable; it was like someone was carving her insides out slowly and painfully. But she could see the pain in his eyes too, and it made her angrier. _

"Lucas, you can't be that cruel, _you need to take it back_!" She cried; her teary eyes never leaving his as Nathan and Peyton tried to convince her to get back in bed.

_Why couldn't he understand? Why didn't he get it, he __**needed **__to take it back! She wouldn't be able to live if he didn't, she wouldn't be able to wake up day after day living with this truth. If he loved her, he would take it back! Please, just take it back!_

"He was _lying_, Brooke, he was just upset!" Nathan attempted weakly, trying his hardest to calm her down, but she wasn't listening to him. No matter what he said, Brooke wasn't going to budge until she heard it from Lucas; _her teary eyes never leaving his._

Lucas watched her weak form pull at his shirt, and it broke his heart; _there was no way he could take it back now. She could read his eyes like a book, even if he said it, she'd know he was lying. She got the answer to her question in his eyes, but it just wasn't the answer she could accept. And this was Brooke's desperate attempt to deny the truth. And it broke Lucas's heart more then he could explain to see the plea and desperation in her eyes and do nothing to protect her from this pain._

_He felt like he was in that water with her again, but this time he couldn't unlock the car door… this time he couldn't save her._

_And it tore him apart inside. He felt like he was trying to push and pull at the handle with all his might, but it was impossible. _

_He felt like he could see her drowning, but he couldn't help her to safety._

…_he couldn't save her._

"_I'm so sorry," _He whispered brokenly.

"No," She insisted angrily, "_Stop it, Lucas!"_

"_I'm… so sorry, Brooke, I tried-… I really did,_" He repeated, her hands pressed into his chest, pushing him away; causing him to stumble a step back and lean against the wall, his eyes unchanged.

"Lucas please; _please, _t-take it back!" She begged, clutching onto his shirt again, and their eyes remained locked for a few more moments, tuning out the pleading from Nathan and Peyton behind them; Karen still sat where Brooke had left her, her eyes open in pain, knowing what's to come still.

_Brooke knew from his eyes that he wasn't lying to her. She loved Lucas, and knew him well enough to know he would never lie to her about something like this. Her eyes remained on his, pleading with him to change his answer, pleading for her child. _

_But his eyes didn't change…_

_And it finally hit her._

_She had lost her child… she had lost her baby._

_It was over._

_It was all over._

"_No,_" Brooke whispered, her fists still holding his shirt, but her eyes widened, and Lucas could see her heart shatter through her eyes, as she slowly began to slide down to her knees, but her hands never released his shirt… her fist never opened, so as she kneeled, the buttons of his plaid shirt began ripping off, one by one as she slowly fell to her knees.

"Brooke!" Peyton screamed, before turning to call for a doctor quickly.

"_NO!_" Brooke wailed; the most heartbreaking sound that any of them had ever heard, as it rang down the hospital hallway, causing Max to appear in the door way as well as countless nurses, Brooke's hands fell from Lucas's ripped shirt, clutching her flat stomach, "_My baby!" _she cried in anguish.

Lucas's mouth opened as a painful sob escaped his lips; before he knelt down in front of her, just in time to see her eyes roll into the back of her head and her kneeled body begin to fall backwards. He rushed forward to wrap his arms around her, before she could land on the ground and one hand positioned itself below her knees while the other behind her back; and the weak Lucas took a deep breath before slowly lifting her off the ground.

Nathan rushed forward, "Lucas, let me-…" He began, knowing how weak Lucas still was, but Lucas ignored him, his eyes still on Brooke as he slowly stepped forward weakly, his eyes squeezing shut with the effort, before slowly managing to place her on the bed.

The doctor rushed forward, as nurses worked on getting the wires back on her, "I need this room cleared, _now!_" He insisted.

A grief stricken Karan was lead out of the room by a crying Peyton, as Nathan put a hesitant hand on Lucas's shoulder.

"I'm not leaving her," Lucas insisted.

"You have to Lucas,"

Lucas shrugged Nathan's hand off, "I'm _not _leaving her," He declared.

"We need everyone out of this room, _now!_" The doctor informed strictly.

"Lucas, you need to do this for Brooke," Nathan said sternly, his hand back on Lucas's shoulder, and Lucas took one painful look at Brooke, before sighing as Nathan lead him out of the room.

"Nathan," Lucas whispered, his mouth open, his eyes wide and filled with tears.

"_I know,_" Nathan responded soothingly, a hand wrapping around his shoulder, "But you need to be strong for her; _she needs you the most right now_,"

Lucas finally broke down, falling to his knees brokenly, "_I don't know what to do," _he whispered, tears falling from his eyes as he stared at the ground beneath him, "_Brooke,_" He cried painfully.

Nathan couldn't help but feel a tight knot form in his throat again as he kneeled down to his brother; _he hated seeing Lucas like this. He thought he had seen Lucas vulnerable in these past few months, but this was horrible. There was so much pain and heartache on his face that it was almost hard to see. He could see the depths of pain that Lucas was going through for Brooke just through those eyes. He could see the helplessness and anguish, and it broke his heart for his brother._

All Nathan could do was put a hand on his shoulder and mumble consoling things that were meaningless at the end of the day because Nathan knew it didn't help at all, and just saying the words he knew it sounded like bullshit. But he was helpless as well.

"Imagine how she'll react when she finds out _you and your mom _were the ones to kill our child," Max muttered from a bench a few feet down. He was sitting there, his elbows on his knees as his hand held his forehead, "_Just think_ of the pain _that _would cause her,"

Lucas's tear filled eyes hardened as he looked up at Max, "_Shut the fuck up_," He growled, "You don't have the fucking right to even _talk _about her, you fucking bastard,"

Max stood up, "I'm fucking _sick _of you pretending like _you're _the one hurt most by this. Pretending like Brooke losing her child fucking devastates you. Don't you fucking dare insult my child like that! _You _weren't the father, _you _didn't lose your child; so cut the fucking bullshit. You don't know what _I'm _going through, so don't tell me what or who I can or cannot talk about,"

Lucas stood up too, "I never said I was the father of this child. But I _love _Brooke, and I can feel her pain, and I'm devastated for _her _loss, but _you, _you lost the right to talk about her the day you agreed to sign her _death contract_,"

Max laughed bitterly, "Of course _you _would've chosen Brooke in a heartbeat because the baby you let go meant nothing to you, _that was my baby, _and you guys were selfish enough to make me sacrifice my flesh and blood so you could keep Brooke,"

"Shut the fuck up, Max," Nathan stepped in, "You made it clear that you didn't want Brooke to be the one to survive, well she did, and she unfortunately lost her baby. We all feel pain for her, and we're all sad. But since that did happen, _why are you still here?_ You clearly didn't care about Brooke, so now you can fucking _leave_,"

"Excuse me," All three stopped when the doctor walked out of Brooke's room, "Brooke Davis is awake, and she's asking for you,"

Nathan patted Lucas's back comfortingly, as Lucas took a huge gulp; _he had to be there for her, she needed him more then anything right now. He had to be strong for her; he had to be her support. He had to tell her that he'd always be there for her, no matter what, and he'd stand by her through this all. He'd help her heal._

Lucas took a step forward, when the doctor interrupted, "Not you, she's asking for that man over there, the father of the lost child, Max,"

Lucas stopped cold in his tracks and it felt like the wind had been sucked out of him, _"What?"_

Lucas held his breath, as he watched Max walk past him, his shoulder slightly brushing against him, and he felt his heart ache as Max entered the room and shut the door behind him.

Max hesitantly sat down beside her, she was staring up at the ceiling, her eyes dry and her face emotionless, "_Brooke,_" He whispered slowly.

She didn't turn to look at him, and when he took her hand, she squeezed it lightly, "I need you to take me home," She whispered hoarsely.

Max's jaw almost fell; _she didn't remember? _Relief washed through him slowly, and he silently thanked god for this opportunity… his chance to mourn his child with her. No one in the world could understand his pain better then her; and he needed her now, and wanted to be there for _her _as well.

"_Okay,"_ He whispered slowly; _maybe things would work out. Maybe they'd heal together, and she would finally realize how much he loved her. Maybe they could be happily ever after. _

_I'm sorry baby, I'm sorry you couldn't be with us; _he thought, his lower lip trembling as he thought of his unborn child, his other hand resting on top of their joined hands.

"You just need to fill out my discharge papers, and we can go,"

Max nodded slowly, "Brooke, _are you okay?_" He whispered, before taking a deep breath, his eyes never leaving her face, "… how did this happen to you?"

She just blinked, her emotions unchanging, "All I remember is holding Haley's baby boy in my arms, I remember looking down at his beautiful face and being excited for my baby, I remember thinking how much this baby would mean to me, how I would love him or her with my whole self…" She whispered unemotionally, "…And then I remember waking up here a few hours ago and Lucas telling me-…" She gulped her muscles twitching slightly, "…telling me it was over,"

Max almost sighed in relief, as he held her hand more confidently, "I know baby, I know how your feeling right now," He insisted affectionately, "We're going to get through this together, I promise,"

Lucas sat there, his eyes still open in shock; _why… _

Nathan watched Lucas with a sigh; _he knew how much this hurt Lucas, he saw the anguish in his eyes the second Max had walked past him and even from the way Lucas had stood glued to his spot even moments after Max had closed the door behind. _It had been a little over an hour since Max had gone in, and Lucas hadn't muttered a word. Nathan had tried a few times to talk to him, to convince him to take a walk, to do anything but sit there like that.

But of course, he got no response.

_It didn't make any sense. Why would Brooke call for Max? Lucas almost died for her, he saved her life, twice. He slowed down his own recovery to be by her side at all times. How could Brooke call Max in? Max- who was ready to sign her death contract! He had never seen Lucas so messed up, or anyone as messed up, as he had been seeing Lucas for these last few months. Earlier, Nathan knew that Lucas had called that on himself, by going to Peyton and hurting Brooke, but now, this wasn't Lucas getting what he deserved anymore. This had gone too far._

Nathan tried another approach, but just saying it, he knew it was useless and he wouldn't get any reply, but he tried anyways, "Lucas, maybe we should go home, you need some rest-…"

But before he could finish his lame attempt, the door beside them finally opened, and Nathan looked up startled to find Max step out, followed by a weak looking Brooke. Her head was still bandaged, and there were various cuts and bruises all over the exposed skin of her face, neck and arms.

Max side eyed them when Lucas finally looked up, his eyes going straight to Brooke. But she ignored his eyes, her own straight ahead, looking into nothing.

They slowly began to walk past the two brothers, when Lucas finally spoke, his voice painfully hoarse, "_Brooke_," He whispered.

Brooke stopped in her tracks for a few seconds, and Max turned to watch what she would do as well, but after a few quick moments of silence, she simply just continued to walk away.

Nathan caught the renewed anguish spill over Lucas's face, and it only caused anger to build inside Nathan; _his brother almost died for her, he's been around her around the clock, he's done so much, been hurt so bad… he will not let her leave like that. No way will she walk away like that, Lucas will get to have his piece, he will get to say what he wanted, and if not, Nathan will tell her how much Lucas has done for her, and what kind of scum she was leaving with. He'd tell her about Max's decision! _

They walked into the elevator, and Nathan got up to follow when he felt his phone vibrate in the pocket of his sweatpants. He looked down momentarily distracted, but by the time he looked up again, the elevator doors slid closed.

_Damn it!_

Max held the door open as Brooke slowly lowered herself into the car, before closing it gently after her. He walked around the door, watching her through the window hesitantly, before sitting in beside her.

He turned to smile at her reassuringly, but face was turned to her side window, and from what he could see, her face with still emotionless. Nathan sighed, as he started the car.

The two drove in silence; _Max was glad he had cleaned up the mess at home, he didn't want to risk her seeing the clatter and remembering their fight… and everything that happened prior to her accident. _

_This was the best time. Brooke was vulnerable, and they were both hurting. This would bring them even closer and then ever, mourning their loss together. He was sure that he would be able to convince Brooke to be with him now. He was the only person that would be able to understand her pain fully, the only person she would want around her._

Max glanced at her again, but her position hadn't changed, and he sighed, looking ahead again. _This was going to be a long way to recovery; and for them as a couple._

They neared the bridge and Max bit his bottom lip; _he needed to do something so that this scene didn't trigger anything…_

"Oh Brooke, uhm, do you know how long you've been unconscious," He asked gently, trying to get her into conversation.

They drove onto the bridge and he eyed the railing she had broken through, that section was still being reconstructed, and the whole right lane was closed due to it. He glanced at her again, checking for a reaction, "_Brooke_?" He asked again.

She finally turned to him, her eyes still emotionless, "_Stop _the car,"

"What?" He questioned confused.

"_Stop the car_,"

Max slowed down, "Why?"

With a gentle nod of her head, Brooke motioned ahead.

Max's eyes slowly followed lead, and he felt his heart stop; because walking across the bridge were; Lucas, Nathan, Rachel, Haley, Peyton and Karen; all stopping to block his path.

He turned to her, his eyes wide, "_Brooke_," He whispered, betrayed.

"Stop. The. Car." She said, emotionlessly.

There was no way around it, and Max found himself slowing the car, before finally coming to a stop. As soon as it stopped, Brooke got out, and had already walked halfway towards the others by the time Max finally followed.

"What's going on here?" He demanded.

Brooke's eyes met Lucas's pained ones, and she turned to Rachel, "What's he doing here, Rach," She asked, "I told you to call the police,"

"_Is it true,_" Lucas demanded, his voice coming out almost frightened, as if her answer could make or break him.

Brooke's eyes widened, "Rach, _what did you tell him?_" She demanded; _but Brooke knew, she knew by the look in his eyes… that he knew. And her heart sank further, _"_You swore!_" She accused, and Rachel simply stared back.

"I know," Rachel answered, "And I hated having to keep this in, but I kept my promise, I didn't tell him anything, but I convinced someone else to,"

Brooke's eyes looked past Rachel's shoulder to find Karen looking back at her, and Brooke shut her eyes tightly for a second with a sigh.

"_Brooke,"_ He growled, his eyes piercing into her, "Is it _true_,"

"What's going on here?" Max demanded hesitantly, "Can you clear the way!"

Brooke's eyes never left Lucas's, and she found her terrified words to her dead child coming back to her; _I'm so sorry baby, I'm so sorry for doing this to you! I'm so sorry you have to go through this, I'll keep you safe, I promise I'll keep you safe, no one's gonna hurt you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…_

"Brooke… _did he rape you?_" Lucas asked, his voice gentle, but his eyes clouded over with utmost anguish and anger.

Brooke took a deep breath; _Brooke sobbed silently as he kissed his way down her neck, and tore off her blouse violently. Brooke whimpered when she felt his hands go down to her skirt. He pulled it off effortlessly, his hands roaming her body with viciousness of an animal; _before finally looking him square in the eye;

"_Yes_," She finally breathed out, feeling a weird sense of closure inside her, that did nothing for the fire, but she knew it was time. _It was time for Lucas to know the truth._ It was time to finally accept it, "Max _raped_ me after that party that you two got into a fight, and not only did he force me to have sex with him, he _beat_ me _Luke, _he hurt me so bad, and-…" Brooke paused momentarily, not blinking an eye, "… _and he caused my accident,_" She whispered.

Lucas's mouth fell open, his heart clenching in a way he had never felt it before; _so it was true._

_Nathan looked down at his text with a frown, "It's Rachel… she wants us to meet her at the bridge,"_

_Lucas didn't flinch, still in shock; Brooke just walked away from him… she just left with Max?_

"…_It's important… about Brooke," Nathan added slowly, causing Lucas to look up immediately._

"_Did she say what? What's this about?"_

"_That's all; she wants us to come now, and come through the dirt path shortcut, we need to get there ASAP!"_

_By then, Lucas was already walking down the hall, "Lets go!"_

_When they had gotten there, Karen was already there, and Peyton and Haley had just parked too._

"_Haley, Peyton?" Nathan asked._

"_Rachel texted us…" Peyton explained as the four made their way towards Rachel's parked car, where Karen stood beside her, her eyes teary._

"_What's going on here?" Lucas demanded._

_Rachel looked at the group, "You need to know the truth about Brooke, Lucas; you deserve to know,"_

"_What truth?"_

_Rachel sighed, "I can't tell you, that's the problem; she swore me to secrecy. And I would've kept it that way, even though it ate at me everyday, but after finding out what you did for Brooke…" She whispered, "You really love her, and you need to know this, because… because she loves you too,"_

_Lucas felt his heart clench, "What's going on Rachel?" He pleaded._

"_You need to ask your mom,"_

_Lucas turned to Karen with a frown, "Mom,"_

_Karen let out a little sob, wrapping her arms around herself, "I didn't know, I thought he had changed… she had convinced me not to… she had promised he had changed. I didn't know he had caused the accident," _

"_Who caused the accident?!" Lucas interrupted, his heart beating faster._

_Karen looked up at her son, trembling slightly, "Max," She finally whispered. _

"_WHAT?!" Peyton demanded, "Max caused the accident? How do you know? Why would he… why-…"_

"_She called me when she woke up after you told her about her baby, she wanted me to call the police, and she wanted him to get arrested on the bridge he caused her baby to die, she wanted it to be done here for a type of justice for her child, but I think you need to know the full story before he goes to jail Lucas, because she'll never tell you after,"_

_Lucas frowned, "Mom, tell me, what's the full story?!"_

"_Karen please, you need to tell him, they'll be here any minute,"_

_Karen slowly looked up to face him again, "Lucas…" She began, taking a deep breath, "Brooke was pregnant with Max's baby, because… because h-he… he raped her,"_

_Lucas felt his heart stop, "No,"_

"_I'm so sorry; I wanted to tell you-…"_

"_No mom, that can't be… he couldn't… it doesn't make sense… mom that's not true," He whispered, something cracking inside him._

_He didn't even hear Peyton, Nathan and Haley's responses, as he suddenly felt numb; _

_Brooke couldn't have been raped! _

_That can't be true…_

Max backed away when he found Lucas look away from Brooke finally and straight at him, his eyes a deadly red. He had never seen him like that, he hadn't seen anyone's eye's like that before.

Lucas stepped away from Brooke slowly, his eyes filling with tears as he stepped towards Max; _he hurt her._

From the look alone, Max knew that Lucas knew, "Lucas, stop-…" He started, stepping back towards his car, but before he could get far, he felt Lucas's fist grab at his collar, and before he knew it, one of his fists had been pulled back and come at his face with so much force that blood squirted almost instantly from Max's mouth, as he fell back.

_There was so much force in that one punch that oddly, Max felt like he had been hit by a speeding truck. Max knew right away from the soaring pain, that he had broken his jaw, _Max yelled out in pain, his hand clutching his jaw.

But he didn't have enough time to regain his senses, because before he knew it, Lucas was standing over him, one fist pulling his face up by his collar, "_You hit her?"_ He growled venomously, before his other fist came crashing against his left eye, with just as great of force as the first time, and Max felt his vision go white momentarily, as he cried out in pain.

Brooke heard his cries; and it brought satisfaction to her heart; _she wanted him to cry as much as he had caused her to, she wanted him to pay for all her pain, she wanted him to hurt at least even half as much as she was hurting, every time Lucas punched him, it caused something to slowly claw at the tightly formed ball of anguish inside her._

_Remembering her cries as he had beat her,_

_Her cries as he had viciously raped her,_

_As he had chased her in his car_

She watched as Lucas pounded his fist into Max's face over and over again, with so much force every single time that the sound pierced their ears and his knuckles were bleeding horribly; she tuned out the few that stopped, people getting out of their cars and crowding around them; but no one was courageous, or stupid, enough to try to stop Lucas.

Lucas had tears running down his face, his eyes dark red, attacking Max like a crazy animal.

Max had managed to push Lucas off him with all his might, laying a punch square against Lucas's left temple, and though it caused a cut, oozing out blood beside his eye, Lucas didn't flinch. He looked like an enraged animal, and nothing could keep him down, and while Max took this opportunity to run towards his car, Lucas wasn't letting that happen.

Because just as Max was hurriedly stumbling to his car, Lucas was too fast; he grabbed Max by a fistful of hair, pulling him backwards painfully.

"Stop!" Max cried in pain, "_Please stop,"_

Lucas felt his anger flare even more, as he imagined his Brooke pleading with Max like that, before he shoved Max's face in the hood of his car forcefully, causing an awful crunching sound to emerge and many crowded around to cry out in shock, before Lucas brought Max's head back up to display a horridly bloody face.

Nathan, who had been watching this whole time, finally stepped forward; _this was getting too far. As much as he wanted to kill Max himself for what he did to Brooke… he knew Max wasn't worth Lucas spending his whole life in jail._

"_Lucas!"_ Nathan yelled, as Lucas shoved his face into the driver window this time, causing his head to break through the window, a painful yell inciting from Max.

He saw people on their cells, and he knew they were calling the police, _"Lucas stop!"_ Peyton yelled, realizing the same thing, "Lucas, please _stop!_" She pleaded, heading towards him, pulling at Lucas's arms uselessly, he ignored her completely, his eyes on Max only.

He looked like a complete madman;

_**"Please Luke, just leave me alone," she begged, turning away from him.**_

_**"Brooke-..." he started, grabbing her elbow to stop her.**_

_**Brooke flinched painfully, pulling her arm away from him.**_

"You _beat _her?" He roared, as he pulled Max's face out through the window frame, shoving his weak form a few feet away from him, causing Max to go crashing to the ground.

_**Lucas stood up, and tried to reach out for her, but she stepped back again, hugging herself tightly, "Lucas,"**_

One fist grabbed his collar again, bringing his face half way up, only to be knocked back down by the other fist, causing a weak _'oof' _to release Max's lips, now looking like a lifeless rag doll almost.

"_Lucas, stop it, let him go," _Nathan yelled as he tried to grab Lucas in a bear hold; but Lucas was way too angry, there was no way to hold him down, because just as he got him in a hold, Lucas had pulled away roughly.

Karen watched from her spot beside Rachel, her eyes emotionless. _She knew this was the end, the end to so many things._ She knew there was no way anyone could stop Lucas now, Karen knew it was over.

And when they heard the distant police sirens, Karen closed her eyes slowly, taking in a deep painful breath.

_**As soon as their skin made contact, Brooke flinched. She backed away from him, looking small and alone.**_

"_Who the fuck are you to touch her_, who the fuck do you think you are you fucking bastard!" Lucas yelled, kicking him in the side when Max weakly tried to sit up, knocking him back down.

"_Lucas!_" Haley yelled, "Stop please!" She begged, her arms wrapped around Brooke, "_You need to stop now!" _

Lucas had grabbed Max by the hair and dragged him to the brick sides of the bridge, when he finally looked up to the sobbing Haley and Peyton, and finally heard Nathan's words, but his eyes left theirs and automatically went to Brooke's.

Their eyes locked; _and his eyes questioned hers._

Brooke trembled;

_He leaned down to her, kissing her neck again. When she tried to move away, he sighed in annoyance, as he punched her in the eye, making her vision go blurry, and a scream escape her lips._

_He grabbed her arms, pulling her against his hard chest roughly, "You think I'm going to leave without getting my times worth," he whispered, before he forcefully covered her mouth._

_She looked up at Max bravely, "Yeah Max, I love L-…" But before she could finish she felt his fist connect with the side of her face with so much force that she fell backwards clutching her face, and a scream of agony left her lips._

_He grabbed her arm roughly, and pulled her up to crush her against his chest, "You and the baby __belong to me.__" He stated with his eyes fury red._

_This time when Brooke looked in her mirror, she could tell that his car was too close to hers, and soon she felt a bump against her car causing her car to startle forward, Brooke opened her window, "STOP IT!" She yelled desperately, but this time when she turned her face back towards the road, she saw an unaware kid bouncing his basketball in direct path of her car, "SHIT!" She yelled, before turning her wheel suddenly in the opposite direction, straight at the side railing of the bridge…_

_He finally looked up to meet her gaze, and she found his eyes blood red and almost teary, "Brooke…" he began, taking a deep breath, his other hand joining the one that was holding Brooke's, __**"You lost your baby,"**__** He whispered painfully.**_

"_**You lost your baby,"**__** He whispered painfully.**_

She pulled away from Haley, a strangled sob leaving her lips, falling to her knees in agony, "_KILL HIM! KILL THE BASTARD, LUKE!"_ She screamed in a strangled voice, unable to breath.

Haley and Peyton looked at Brooke in horror, their eyes widened.

"STOP!" A police officer instructed, as police cars surrounded them within seconds, a few men running out, as one pointed his gun threateningly towards Lucas, "_Leave him!"_

Nathan quickly made for Lucas, "No, _LUCAS-…" _

But before he could grab him, Lucas looked at Max's barely conscious state one last time, before brutally crushing it into the brick railing; as Lucas threw back his head with one last roar of agony, causing Karen to squeeze her eyes shut in heart ache, before Lucas's fist opened and Max dropped to the ground unconsciously;

Merely seconds before Lucas was tackled to the ground by countless officers.

_Breathe you out  
Breathe you in_

_  
You keep coming back to tell me  
you're the one who could have been_

A sobbing Haley and Peyton watched as Lucas's bloody hands were handcuffed, much to Nathan's panicked protest, and an ambulance was rushed onto the scene for the lifeless Max. The cops went from person to person to take down witness reports.

_And my eyes see it all so clear  
it was long ago and far away but it never disappears_

But Lucas didn't say anything anymore. His face was wet with his tears, but his eyes were now dry… his face emotionless.

_Almost like Brooke's._

_I try to put it in the past  
Hold on to myself and don't look back_

Just as Brooke had instructed, Rachel had tracked down Brooke's shocked dad and filled him into Brooke recent year. He had taken an emergency flight down to Tree Hill, to his daughter. His car stopped on the bridge, making his way through the huge crowd, watching as Lucas was put into the police car before spotting his daughter. Who sat kneeled on the ground, her eyes dead and emotionless.

_I don't wanna dream about  
all the things that never were_

He rushed to her, his own eyes tearing at the sight of her. She wasn't the Brooke he remembered, her face looked so worn out and weak that it scared him. Her head was bandaged, cuts and bruises all over her body… and worst of all, those eyes. _He almost shuddered looking into them._

_Maybe I can live without  
when I'm out from under  
_

He helped his fragile daughter into the passenger side of his car, before heading towards Karen, who stood by Rachel's car still, her heart break evident in her eyes as she watched her son in the police car.

_I don't wanna feel the pain  
what good would it do me now_

_  
I'll get it all figured out  
When I'm out from under_

Little did he know; this brought Brooke and Lucas directly in each others view, less then 10 feet from each other; _their eyes connecting._

_So let me go_

_  
Just let me fly away_

Brooke felt a faint tug at her heart; _she knew she loved him, but it just didn't matter anymore._

_Let me feel the space between us growing deeper_

_  
And much darker every day_

Lucas watched her; _the love of his life_. They had gone through so much together, they had grown up and changed so much from when they first met in grade 9. She had promised that '_those who are meant to be always find their way in the end' _but it wasn't true, because here they were now…_  
_

_Watch me now and I'll be someone new  
My heart will be unbroken  
It will open up for everyone but you_

_  
Even when I cross the line_

_  
It's like a lie I've told a thousand times_

She was too broken now, she was way too far gone, _and there was nothing left for her now._ She could faintly feel the spot her heart use to be, now there no more emotions left in her. She had been hurt way too much; she had been broken down way too far…

_I don't wanna dream about  
all the things that never were_

_  
Maybe I can live without  
when I'm out from under_

_  
I don't wanna feel the pain  
what good would it do me now_

_  
I'll get it all figured out  
When I'm out from under_

He had been broken down too. He had seen his best friend, his step brother, his mom and his ex girlfriend in so much pain just now… _but it didn't affect him_. All that mattered was that his pretty girl had been hurt, _hurt beyond repair_, and he needed to avenge her, he needed to avenge every single tear that left her eye. He knew that she would never be the same… and he wouldn't either.

_And part of me still believes  
When you say you're gonna stick around_

_  
And part of me still believes  
we can find a way to work it out_

_  
But I know that we tried everything we could try  
so let's just say goodbye_

_  
…. Forever_

She knew what was going to happen now. Her dad would take her away to wherever he had come from, wherever he had shifted too. And she knew that she would probably never see Tree Hill again… and she would never see Lucas again.

_I don't wanna dream about  
all the things that never were_

_  
Maybe I can live without  
when I'm out from under_

_She had lost everything… everything._

_  
I don't wanna feel the pain  
what good would it do me now_

_  
I'll get it all figured out  
When I'm out from under_

He was going to jail for a very long time, possibly forever; _but that didn't bother him. _He wouldn't change a thing of what he did to Max. He knew he was leaving all his loved ones in pain… but it didn't matter. Maybe it was true; maybe he had really gone crazy. He felt like he was crazy.

Because this was his life_; but he felt like he wasn't there anymore_. Like how one might describe an out of body experience…

_I don't wanna dream about  
all the things that never were_

_He just wasn't there anymore, and he hadn't been there for awhile now._

_  
Maybe I can live without  
when I'm out from under_

Brooke closed her eyes tightly, numbness washing through her.

_  
I don't wanna feel the pain_

Lucas followed lead, his eyelids falling closed.

_  
What good would it do me now?_

Brooke's dad got in the car finally, pulling on his seatbelt as he looked at his daughter sympathetically, but her eyes remained closed. Before he looked up to find Lucas's eyes closed as well, as a cop got in the car as well, starting the car. The two cars were parked in the opposite directions from each other; one facing the direction of the police station, while the other was facing the direction of the airport.

_Both leading out of Tree Hill..._

_  
I'll get it all figured out_

_I love you Lucas._

_  
When I'm out from under_

_I love you Brooke._

_  
When I'm Out From Under …_

The two cars drove away in the opposite direction; _leaving the rest behind._

Haley broke down in Nathan's arms; Peyton fell to the ground in misery; Rachel stood there with tears trickling down her cheeks in heartache as she watched the car depart… _and there was Karen._

Karen watched them drive her son away, and watched the back of Brooke's car; her heart breaking painfully.

_These two were supposed to be together, they loved each other more then she had ever seen anyone love each other before._

_It wasn't fair that their love was filled with so much pain, anger, sorrow… and heartbreak. _

_Not all stories have a happy ending; sometimes you can put your all into something; _

_Sometimes you can love someone so much; _

…_with all your heart,_

_Sometimes you can love someone almost to the point of insanity, _

_But it just doesn't matter;_

_**When everything's against you…

* * *

**_

**A/N A GREAT big thanks to everyone that stood by me with this story, its been a while since it's been started and I thank every reviewer and reader greatly from the bottom of my heart who stuck with me. It hurts me that this story has come to its ****end**** so heartbreakingly… but sometimes things don't always end with an **_**happily ever after.**_

**This is reality. **

**I`m sorry if this is going to upset people or make them angry that Brucas did not end up together; and its true, they were separated this whole story, never were they actually 'together', but this was nonetheless a Brucas story because it **_**was **_**about their love, and **_**their **_**obstacles and their want and need to be together. **

**I may even some day come back with a sequel, because **_**life always goes on**_** and maybe we'll see how theirs goes on… and if it'll ever lead them back to each other? **

**Who knows, anything's possible, and I **_**did **_**invest a lot of my time into this story… maybe things will continue for these two in another story?**

**But I had a lot of fun writing this, and I myself sometimes go back and read earlier chapters. This was a very intense and aghast filled story, and sometimes I surprise myself with how intense some chapters get. I found this chapter, and its ending very intense and I hope you can put aside your unhappiness with **_**their **_**unhappiness and actually enjoy the reality of the stories end.**

**Maybe I'll connect back with some of you in the future through another story,**

**But for now, **

**Take care!**

**Bye.**


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